Too Many Screening Options May Lead to Confusion, Decreased Adherence

New empirical evidence linking confusion about the multiple screening options for colorectal cancer with a reduced likelihood of adherence to screening guidelines should help oncology nurses tailor information when involved in patient education and outreach activities. The cross-sectional study found that patients confused about their options were 1.8 times more likely to be nonadherent with screening recommendations (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2010;19:2821-2825).

 

For their study, researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center surveyed 6100 patients aged 50 to 75 years who had visited a physician within the previous 2 years. Of the responses, 1707 patients reported being presented with more than one screening option. Using weighted frequencies and multivariate logistic regression, they found that nonadherent patients reported greater confusion (P <.01). Among patients presented with two or more options, confusion was 1.6 times more likely than among those presented one option (95% CI, 1.08-2.26). In turn, those who reported being more confused were less likely to be adherent unconfused patients (95% CI, 1.14-2.75).