CSJ1 - Increasing Colorectal Cancer Screening Rates in Rural Communities: Qualitative Research Findings and Best Practice Tips for Health Centers

Session Description: This workshop will engage participants in learning how to use and apply the American Cancer Society National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable’s (ACS NCCRT) upcoming best practice guide for increasing colorectal cancer (CRC) screening in rural communities (scheduled for release May 2025). This new guide builds on the success of other ACS NCCRT resources to provide health centers and other organizations with evidence-based strategies to address common barriers to screening, as well as tools to use in healthcare settings. The guide emphasizes strategies to reach patients for screening on-time at age 45, a challenge that many health centers will be eager to address given the recent expansion of the UDS CRC screening rate to include ages 45-49, as well as strategies for mitigating barriers to screening in communities with historically lower CRC screening rates and/or higher incidence and mortality rates. The guide also features five case studies highlighting health centers and organizations that have seen particular success. The guide is informed by an expert advisory committee that includes health center staff and organizations that partner closely with health centers.

Presenters will provide an overview of recent data and statistics that illustrate the burden of CRC in rural communities and support the need to address CRC-related disparities by implementing the strategies in the guide, as well as provide an orientation to the case studies and tools. Participants will then be invited to work in small groups to identify tools and opportunities for addressing key issues, including cultivating partnerships to promote CRC screening.