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Fecal occult blood testing

People in Ontario are unaware of it and not ready for it

Ronald Myers, PhD DSW
Professor of Medicine and Director of the Division of Behavioral Epidemiology at Jefferson Medical College in Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, Pa, and a recipient of the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Control Award

M. Elisabeth Del Giudice, MD MSc
Associate Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto and a Clinician-Scientist in the Family Practice Research Unit at the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto

Lawrence Pazsat, MD MSc
Scientist at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences in Toronto; Head of the Preventive Oncology Program at the Odette Cancer Centre in the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre; and an Associate Professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology and the Department of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto

Michelle Cotterchio, PhD
Senior Epidemiologist and Scientist in the Division of Preventive Oncology at Cancer Care Ontario and an Associate Professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of Toronto

Roberta Howlett, PhD
Manager of the Cervical Screening Program at Cancer Care Ontario

Verna Mai, MD
Director of Screening Programs at Cancer Care Ontario, Chair of the Screening Action Group of the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer, and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of Toronto

Patrick Brown, PhD
Biostatistician-Scientist at Cancer Care Ontario and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of Toronto

Terrence Sullivan, PhD
President and Chief Executive Officer of Cancer Care Ontario; an Associate Professor in the Department of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation and the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of Toronto; Past President of the Institute for Work and Health; and a former Assistant Deputy Minister of Federal-Provincial Relations in Ontario

Linda Rabeneck, MD MPH
Senior Scientist at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences and the Sunnybrook Research Institute; a Professor in the Department of Medicine and the Department of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto; a Senior Investigator with the Cancer Quality Council of Ontario; Vice-President of Regional Cancer Services at the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre; and Coordinator of the Patterns of Cancer Care Network at Cancer Care Ontario

Correspondence: Dr Ritvo, Cancer Care Ontario, Division of Preventive Oncology, 620 University Ave, Toronto, ON M5G 2L7; telephone 416 971-9800, extension 3203; fax 416 217-1343; e-mailpaul.ritvo{at}cancercare.on.ca

OBJECTIVE To determine factors that influence awareness of, and readiness to undergo, fecal occult blood testing (FOBT) for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening.

DESIGN Validated survey designed to ascertain respondents’ stages of decision making regarding CRC screening using FOBT.

SETTING Ontario.

PARTICIPANTS A total of 1013 people 50 years old and older drawn from all regions of the province using a random-digit dialing telephone protocol.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Awareness of FOBT and readiness to undergo it for screening for CRC.

RESULTS Response rate was 69%. Results indicated that 54% of women and 45% of men had "heard of" FOBT, and 26% of women and 17% of men had heard of it but were still "not considering" FOBT screening. Only 17% of all respondents had "decided to have" FOBT screening. Demographic factors associated with having heard of FOBT were female sex, completion of college or higher education, and being married or living as married. Demographic factors associated with active consideration of FOBT among those who reported awareness of it were male sex and being married or living as married.

CONCLUSION Many people seemed uninformed about FOBT and not ready to undertake this type of screening. Results of this survey could help guide strategies and develop programs to make eligible people aware of CRC screening using FOBT and to motivate them to undergo testing.

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