Publications by authors named "Susan C Bradford"
Background: Guidelines now recommend initiating colorectal cancer (CRC) screening at age 45 years rather than 50 years, but little is known about screening completion and yield among people aged 45 to 49 years.
Objective: To evaluate fecal immunochemical test (FIT) completion and yield in patients aged 45 to 49 versus 50 years.
Design: Retrospective cohort study.
Context: Health care systems continue to seek evidence about how to optimize the efficiency and effectiveness of cancer screening reminders. Annual reminders to receive preventive services can be an efficient strategy.
Objective: To understand patient motivators and barriers to cancer screening and preferences about reminder strategies.
We compared the effectiveness of two outreach strategies on timely mammography adherence: a mammogram-specific reminder letter (sent just before a woman was due) to a birthday letter (addresses multiple preventive services and not timed around due dates). We evaluated screening mammography adherence following 79,848 mammogram-specific and 151,626 birthday letters mailed between 2002 and 2012 to women aged 40-74years enrolled in Kaiser Permanente Washington. Screening mammogram adherence was specifically tied to due date and was evaluated separately by age group and up-to-date or overdue status at the time of mailing.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLatina and Black/African American Women's Perspectives on Cancer Screening and Cancer Screening Reminders.
J Racial Ethn Health Disparities
November 2016
Introduction: Racial and ethnic disparities continue to exist in cancer screening rates, especially among US Latina and Black/African American populations. We conducted six focus groups among 41 women from these communities in order to better understand their preferences about cancer screening reminders and the motivators and deterrents they face in obtaining recommended breast, cervical, and colon cancer screening.
Methods: Using self-reported patient race/ethnicity from electronic medical records of a large, integrated health care system in Seattle, we recruited women ages 30-60 to participate in one of five 2-hour focus groups.
Objective: Test-specific reminder letters can improve cancer screening adherence. Little is known about the effectiveness of a reminder system that targets the whole person by including multiple screening recommendations per letter.
Methods: We compared the effectiveness of a Pap-specific reminder letter sent 27months after a woman's last Pap, to a reminder letter that included up to seven preventive service recommendations sent before a woman's birthday ("birthday letter") on Pap smear adherence from a natural experiment occurring in routine clinical care.
Introduction: Only 63% of the US population aged 50-75 years is adherent with recommended colorectal cancer (CRC) screening guidelines. Efforts are needed to increase screening for CRC.
Methods: We evaluated a quality improvement intervention conducted in 2010 at Group Health in Washington State to assess the use of interactive voice response (IVR) systems to improve CRC screening.
Background: Screening for fecal occult blood can be effective in reducing colorectal cancer mortality only if positive tests are appropriately followed up with complete diagnostic evaluation (ie, colonoscopy or flexible sigmoidoscopy with double contrast barium enema) and treatment.
Objectives: To examine whether rates of complete diagnostic evaluation after a positive fecal occult blood test (FOBT) have improved over time after the implementation of tracking systems and physician guidelines within a large integrated health care organization.
Research Design: From 1993 to 2005, 8513 positive FOBTs were identified on 8291 enrollees aged 50-79 of a large health care system.