New York City Achieves Striking Success in Effort to Increase Colonoscopy Rates
Women 50 plus increase rate 22.3%, all senior New Yorkers 20%; erases racial gaps
Nov. 18, 2011 A campaign to improve colonoscopy rates in New York City, with an emphasis on minorities and women, has
achieved dramatic success, according to a new study. While men had a higher rate of colonoscopies when the campaign was introduced in 2003,
women closed the gap: their screening rate rose 22.3%, as opposed to a 16.7% increase among men. Rates among all New Yorkers aged 50 and older
jumped 20%.
Since the 1970s, U.S. mortality rates due to colorectal cancer have declined overall, yet among blacks and Hispanics, the
death rates rose. Evidence suggests that underuse of colonoscopy screening among these groups is one reason for the large disparities. In
2003, New York City launched a multifaceted campaign to improve colonoscopy rates among racial and ethnic minorities and women.
This new study conducted by researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and the NYC Department
of Health and Mental Hygiene demonstrates the notable success of the campaign.
Results show a 20-percentage point jump in colonoscopy screenings among all New Yorkers ages 50 and older and the
elimination of disparities across several demographic populations.
Full study findings are published online in the American Journal of Gastroenterology and featured in their highlights of
important findings called the Red Section.
Results from the study show that the number of New Yorkers aged 50 years and older who reported at least one colonoscopy
screening within the past 10 years increased from 41.7% in 2003 to 61.7% in 2007.
Timely colonoscopy screenings for six categories of New Yorkers race/ethnicity, sex, insurance status, poverty level,
education and age -- show disparities eliminated over the five-year study span among non-Hispanic whites, non-Hispanic blacks and Hispanics as
well as a 29-percentage point increase over time for screening among Asians.
The campaign to improve colonoscopy rates in NYC was developed by Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYCDOH) in
collaboration with the Citywide Colon Cancer Control Coalition. It included media campaigns on subways, ethnic radio stations and at check
cashing sites, plus an outreach through the medical community.
Health Department epidemiologists, evaluated the effectiveness of the Coalition's campaign to increase screening and were
also co-authors of the paper.
Other components included an expanded capacity for colonoscopy at the public hospital system and streamlined colonoscopy
referral system.
Data were analyzed from the Community Health Survey (CHS), a population-based, random telephone survey of New Yorkers
that has been administered annually since 2002 by the NYC DOHMH.
The study also shows that the affluent and the well-educated continue to have the highest and fastest-growing rates of
colonoscopies. Between 2003 and 2007, the greatest increase was among New Yorkers who are U.S.-born, college-educated, 65 years and older, and
living at 200% of the federal poverty level or. In 2007, New Yorkers with household incomes below $25,000 had a colonoscopy screening rate of
34%, vs. 59% among those with household incomes above $75,000. Adults with high household incomes600% of the federal poverty level or
morecontinued to have a much higher prevalence of timely colonoscopy screening than all other income groups (73.3%).
Over time, disparities for adults with private or government-provided insurance also disappeared. However, those without
insurance continued to lag -- 43.3% reported a colonoscopy screening compared to 66.8% of the privately insured, although colonoscopy
screening rates among the uninsured were a mere 15% in 2003.
"These analyses show how successful the Health Department and its partners have been in closing the cancer screening gap
among racial and ethnic groups across New York City, although the screening rate in the Asian population remained low," said Dr. Bonnie Kerker,
senior epidemiology and policy advisor at the Department of Health. "Since this analysis was done, however, the screening rate among Asians
has increased from 53.6% percent in 2007 to 66.7 percent in 2010, a rate comparable to that among whites (68.5 percent)."
"Though there are still challenges for the uninsured, we were pleased to see that the New York City's campaign paid off,
eliminating racial, ethnic and sex disparities in the use of colonoscopies. " noted Catherine Richards of the Mailman School of Public
Health's Department of Epidemiology and lead author of the study. "Still, this improvement will become meaningful only if we see a
corresponding reduction in deaths from colon cancer. This will need to be assessed in future studies."
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boomers
Nov. 18, 2011 A campaign to improve colonoscopy rates in New York City, with an emphasis on minorities and women, has
achieved dramatic success, according to a new study. While men had a higher rate of colonoscopies when the campaign was introduced in 2003,
women closed the gap: their screening rate rose 22.3%, as opposed to a 16.7% increase among men. Rates among all New Yorkers aged 50 and older
jumped 20%.