Assessment of screening and early diagnosis of colorectal cancer program in Maragheh

Abstract

Introduction: Colorectal cancer screening program began since of 2016, initality its pilot in four cities, including Maragheh and after one year, it gradually developed nationally. The purpose of this study is to determining of coverage of program in Maragheh city and compares the achievements of the program with the desired and expected results. Method and Material: The study population included all people aged 50 to 69 years old that invited to health canters for screening during 2017. The Sampling was by census method. The data collection checklist was prepared, adjusted and used through a review of articles, the opinion of experts and accordance with the instructions of the Ministry of Health, including program evaluation and diagnostic indicators. Results: The total number of people covered, 6816 participated in the screening program. The number of suspected suspects was 352 (255 in urban and 97 in rural). In general, the coverage of the screening program was inappropriate (21.2%). There were many failures in referring patients to general physician (34.6%), diagnostic tests (33.3%) and specialist physician (23.5%). Conclusion: According to the results of the study, the health system faces process and structural problems (culture, non-participation of the target population, lack of colonoscopy, access costs to access to specialized services and lack of access to specialized screening information of the covered population) in colorectal cancer screening. However, it has been more successful in identifying and referring high-risk groups of colorectal cancer than before the years ago. Results: It is necessary to redesign the CRC screening program process to identify the target population, provide the necessary infrastructure such as increase colonoscopy capacity in cities and support vulnerable groups in the community against the devastating costs of CRC screening and treatment.