Closing the Gap: Priority Zones Identified for CRC Screening

TOPLINE:
Researchers identified thousands of census tracts as priority zones where improving the screening of colorectal cancer (CRC) may benefit Hispanic or Latina communities.
METHODOLOGY:
Hispanic or Latina individuals have the lowest rate of CRC screening among the six broader census-designated racial or ethnic groups in the United States, while they face a high proportion of cancer deaths due to CRC.
Researchers performed a cross-sectional ecologic study using 2021 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention PLACES and 2019 American Community Survey data to identify priority zones for CRC screening where intervention programs may be targeted.
They analyzed a total of 72,136 US census tracts, representing 98.7% of all US census tracts.
Nine race and ethnic groups were selected on the basis of the population size and categorizations used in prior research on health or cancer disparity: Non-Hispanic Black, non-Hispanic White, Asian, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Dominican, Central or South American, and “other race.”
Geographically weighted regression and Getis-Ord Gi* hot spot procedures were used to identify the screening priority zones for all Hispanic or Latina groups.
TAKEAWAY:
The analysis identified 6519 hot spot tracts for Mexican, 3477 for Puerto Rican, 3522 for Central or South American, 1069 for Dominican, and 1424 for Cuban individuals. The average rates of screening for CRC were 57.2%, 59.9%, 59.3%, 58.9%, and 60.4%, respectively.
The percentage of Cuban individuals showed a positive association with the CRC screening rate, while the percentage of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Dominican, and Central or South American Hispanic or Latina individuals and of the uninsured showed a negative association with the CRC screening rate.
The priority zones for Mexican communities were primarily located in Texas and southwestern United States, while those for Puerto Rican, Central or South American, and other populations were located in southern Florida and the metro areas of New York City and Texas.
IN PRACTICE:
“Our findings and interactive web map may serve as a translational tool for public health authorities, policymakers, clinicians, and other stakeholders to target investment and interventions to increase guideline-concordant CRC screening uptake benefitting specific H/L [Hispanic or Latina] communities in the United States,” the authors wrote. “These data can inform more precise neighborhood-level interventions to increase CRC screening considering unique characteristics important for these H/L [Hispanic or Latina] groups.”
SOURCE:
The study, led by R. Blake Buchalter, PhD, MPH, Center for Populations Health Research, Department of Quantitative Health Sciences, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, was published online in the American Journal of Public Health.
LIMITATIONS: 
The study’s cross-sectional design limited the ability to infer causality. The use of census tract-level data did not capture individual-level screening behaviors. The study did not account for nativity status or years of migration owing to the lack of data. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention PLACES dataset may not represent the actual screening delivered as it is based on survey data. 
DISCLOSURES:
The National Cancer Institute partially supported this study. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication. 
 
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