Abstract

Colorectal Cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths for adults in the United States. There have been significant advances in preventative medicine for CRC, but screening completion lags behind other cancers, with only 61% reported adherence based on USPSTF guidelines. About two-thirds of the patients who are diagnosed with CRC already have distally spread disease. Detecting CRC early is vital, as early detection is linked to smaller tumor sizes and better outcomes. The current research study asked three questions with the objectives of assessing the frequency of CRC screening in primary care clinics, evaluating documented barriers to CRC screening, and assessing the modalities of CRC screening offered. The study intended to identify the areas of improvement for the overall CRC screening process. Research was conducted using a quantitative, retrospective design with data collection from three primary care clinics in the southeastern United States. The results from the 239 participants showed that 43% of patients did not complete CRC screening, with 23.8% of the participants not being offered a CRC screening modality. 19.2% of the participants offered CRC screening did not complete the screening. 87.5% of the participants offered multiple modalities completed the screening, but only 70.5% of the participants offered one modality completed the screening. Only 5.2% of the participants who were not offered a CRC screening option had barriers to screening documented in the EHR. 8.8% of the EHRs documented the patient refused CRC screening, and 0.8% of the EHRs documented failure to complete screening due to cost or lack of insurance. The results of this study conclude that there is a positive association between offering multiple CRC screening compliance and increased screening compliance.

Degree

Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)

Degree Date

2025

First Advisor

Dr. Lindsay Kemp

Document Type

Thesis

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