2841 Sex, Educational Status, and Compliance With Scheduled Out-Patient Screening Colonoscopy Among Under-Served Urban Blacks

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Black men suffer the highest burden from colorectal cancer in the United States. It is generally believed that women are more health conscious than men, but it is unknown if educational status influence compliance by sex among underserved minorities. Aim: To evaluate sex differences in compliance with scheduled screening colonoscopy appointments among underserved urban blacks and investigate the effect of the highest education attained. METHODS: Methods: A total of 399 black patients participated in a clinical trial (NCT02464618) designed to evaluate the efficacy of self-selected social contact person in improving compliance to scheduled outpatient screening colonoscopy. The primary outcome of our present study was compliance with the scheduled outpatient screening colonoscopy among attendees by sex and highest education attained. We used logistic regression models to calculate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). RESULTS: There were 188 (47.1%) black men and 211 (52.9%) black women. Overall, there was no sex difference in compliance with the scheduled colonoscopy appointments (77.3% versus 77.1%; OR = 1.01; 95% CI: 0.63-1.61). However, participants with some college education were more compliant (84.1% versus 73.1%; OR = 1.95; 95% CI: 1.15-3.30). This improvement in compliance was more evident among men (Table 1). CONCLUSION: Conclusion: Efforts to improve general and cancer specific education of black men are needed to reduce the burden of colon cancer among this vulnerable population.