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. 2017 Dec 16;17(1):860.
doi: 10.1186/s12885-017-3881-5.

Perceptions of colorectal cancer screening and recommendation behaviors among physicians in Korea

Hye Young Shin  1   2 , Mina Suh  1 , Boyoung Park  3 , Jae Kwan Jun  1 , Kui Son Choi  4
Affiliations

Perceptions of colorectal cancer screening and recommendation behaviors among physicians in Korea

Hye Young Shin et al. BMC Cancer. .

Abstract

Background: Physician recommendations for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening have consistently been shown to be a strong predictor of screening. The aim of this study was to investigate perceptions of CRC screening modalities and recommendation behaviors among physicians in Korea.

Methods: A cross-sectional, nationally representative survey conducted between November 2013 and February 2014. In total, 379 physicians (241 primary care physicians and 138 physicians affiliated with the Korean Association for the Study of Intestinal Diseases responded to this survey (overall response rate of 31.4%).

Results: About 29% of all respondents "always" recommended and about 67% "sometimes" recommended CRC screening. Colonoscopy was perceived as an effective primary screening tool for CRC, and 80% of the physicians recommended colonoscopy for CRC screening. Only 7% recommended FOBT. In multivariate analysis, recommending FOBT was associated with stronger belief in the screening efficacy of FOBT (aOR 3.70, 95% CI 2.09, 6.57), weaker belief in the screening efficacy of colonoscopy (aOR 0.29, 95% CI 0.12, 0.69), and negative decisional balance for colonoscopy screening (aOR 0.82, 95% CI 0.71, 0.95).

Conclusions: Although FOBT is provided free-of-charge through a nationwide CRC screening program, colonoscopy was more commonly recommended and preferred by physicians.

Keywords: Attitude; Colonoscopy; Colorectal neoplasms; Physician; Screening.

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Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the National Cancer Center, Korea (NCC2014–0173). According to the Standard Operating Procedure of Institute Review Board, National Cancer Center (ver. 4.6), the IRB waived the requirement for the investigator to obtain a signed consent form for study subjects because the research presents no more than minimal risk and the questionnaire was sent to those who agreed to participate in this survey.

Consent for publication

Not applicable

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

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