Implementing colorectal cancer screening in community health centers: addressing cancer health disparities through a regional cancer collaborative.

Background: The population served by Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) has lower levels of cancer screening compared with the general population and suffers a disproportionate cancer burden. To address these disparities, 3 federal agencies and a primary care association established and tested the feasibility of a Regional Cancer Collaborative (RCC) in 2005.

Methods: RCC faculty implemented a learning model to improve cancer screening across 4 FQHCs that met explicit organizational readiness criteria.