Bowel Cancer Screening Experiences, County Durham
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April 2017 was Bowel Cancer awareness month and Healthwatch County Durham (HWCD) took the opportunityto research the uptake of bowel cancer screening in the county to see why some eligible people were not taking part in the screening programme and if there was anything that could be done to encourage more people to participate.
A survey was designed and distributed on line and in person. 593 responses were received.
Following a review of our findings we would recommend the following actions:
Consider enclosing disposable gloves into the kits which may encourage more people to take the tests
Awareness raising to make people aware that they can still be screened after the age of 74
Give advice to patients with other forms of cancer that it is still important to carry out the test, explainingthey will not necessarily have had any tests for bowel cancer as part of their ongoing treatment
Provide clearer instructions and easy read as this may encourage more people to take the tests.
No response from a provider was included in this report.