Reducing Disparities and Achieving Health Equity in Colorectal Cancer Screening

Abstract

Increases in colorectal cancer screening are linked to the declining incidence of the disease over the past 3 decades. These favorable trends, however, are not observed in marginalized racial and ethnic populations with disproportionately lower rates of screening, higher disease incidence, and increased mortality, despite advances in health technology and policy. This review describes the differences in screening uptake and test selection among racial and ethnic groups, discusses known obstacles and facilitators that impact screening, and highlights existing frameworks developed to achieve health equity in colorectal cancer screening.