RIOS Net investigators are launching a 2-year qualitative study on Colorectal Cancer (CRC) screening in Hispanics and Native Americans. The long range goal is to increase screening rates in New Mexico and to determine the reasons why screening rates are so low in these populations.
CRC is estimated to be the fourth most frequently diagnosed cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States in 2007. Its rates are improving across the US, but in Hispanic and American Indian populations of New Mexico they are getting worse! This is a serious public health impact , which we are excited to address as a network devoted to improving the health and healthcare of New Mexico underserved populations.
Patients, community health care workers, and clinicians will be consulted via focus groups and semi-structured interviews about the personal, social, and cultural barriers to screening. Finding will be used to develop a larger, quantitative study and interventions tailored to the environment and culture of New Mexico.
