Researchers from UCLA Health's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center received a $3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to enhance follow-up care after colorectal cancer screenings in underserved populations.
The researchers will focus on boosting follow-up care for patients who receive abnormal results from stool-based fecal immunochemical tests (FIT), according to an Oct. 2 news release. These tests have become more widespread and can help increase access to initial screenings, but timely follow-up colonoscopies are necessary to detect cancer or remove precancerous polyps.
Folasade May, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and Beth Glenn, PhD, professor of health policy and management at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, are leading a team that will evaluate a "multilevel health system intervention" in an area where only 18-30% of patients who receive abnormal FIT results follow up with a colonoscopy.
The intervention will focus on improving coordination between initial screenings at primary care clinics and follow-up colonoscopies at specialty centers. Researchers will evaluate the intervention's feasibility, effectiveness and cost and look to find scalable solutions for underserved communities.