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Improving colorectal, oral, breast, and cervical cancer screening rates using an inreach approach
Lee-Kiat Ban1, Ailun Heather Tseng2, Hung-Chun Hsing3, Henry Hsin-Chung Lee4
1 Department of Surgery, Hsinchu Cathay General Hospital; College of Medical Technology, Nursing and Wellbeing, Yuanpei University of Medical Technology, Hsinchu, Taiwan
2 Center of Research and Teaching, Hsinchu Cathay General Hospital, Hsinchu, Taiwan
3 Department of Nursing, Hsinchu Cathay General Hospital; College of Nursing, Yuanpei University of Medical Technology, Hsinchu, Taiwan
4 Department of Surgery, Hsinchu Cathay General Hospital; Graduate Institute of Translational and Interdisciplinary Medicine, College of Health Sciences and Technology, National Central University, Taoyuan; School of Medicine, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei, Taiwan
Correspondence Address:
Dr. Henry Hsin-Chung Lee
Department of Surgery, Hsinchu Cathay General Hospital, No. 678 Chung-Hwa Rood, Sect. 2, East Dist, Hsinchu
Taiwan
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None
DOI: 10.4103/JCRP.JCRP_5_18
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The Taiwanese national cancer screening program was established in 1985 by providing Pap smear tests for women. At the same time, trial-based screening for colorectal, oral, and breast cancer screening was initiated. In 1999, outreach services for cancer screening were started and gradually scaled up to the national level. Our hospital is located in Hsinchu, Taiwan. Like many hospitals in Taiwan, we provide cancer screening services to the community. Our baseline screening rate was 96.6% in 2016. Aiming to increase the overall cancer (including colorectal, oral, breast, and cervical cancer) screening rates, we implemented two strategies. First, we modified the cancer screening workflow so that patients could receive screening counseling before the scheduled appointment. Second, we redesigned the clinic waiting room layout by moving check-in and cancer screening counters next to each other. By the end of 2017, the overall cancer screening rate increased from 96.6% to 105.4%. Our future efforts will be focused on collecting patient feedback, increasing coverage of hard-to-reach populations, and understanding barriers to cancer screening for specific groups of patients.
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