Predictors of Colorectal Cancer Screening Participation in Southern Khorasan (Iran)

Abstract

Purpose: Colorectal cancer is one of the most important common malignancies; therefore, timely screening for colorectal cancer can lead to early diagnosis and long survival for patients. The purpose of this study was to investigate the related factors in fecal occult blood test for screening of colorectal cancer based on health belief model constructs in high-risk population in east of Iran.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 475 people over 40 years old in Birjand (East of Iran) who were selected by multi-stage sampling. A valid and reliable questionnaire was used for data collection. Data were analyzed using logistic regression test in the SPSS software version 19s.

Results: In this study, 480 subjects were included in the final analysis, 331 (69%) were male, and the rest of them were female. Mean age of the participants was 55.12 with the standard deviation of 10.04. Of those studied population, 8.3% performed screening tests for early detection of colorectal cancer, and 15% intended to do so. There was a significant relationship between gastrointestinal disease history and perceived self-efficacy and test performance. In addition, significant relationship was observed between perceived self-efficacy in male participants and intention to do test (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: Perceived self-efficacy was the most salient predictor of the probability of undergoing fecal occult blood testing as well as the history of the test. Promoting perceived self-efficacy is very important in the process of promoting colorectal cancer screening behaviors. Therefore, it is recommended that when designing educational interventions, consideration should be given to enhancing the perceived self-efficacy of at-risk individuals to overcome the barriers for performing fecal occult blood testing.

Keywords: Colorectal cancer; Fecal occult blood test; Iran; Predictors; Screening.