‘Are Contemporary Interventions Effectively Lowering Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screening in African Americans?’ Brief Review

This article is undoubtedly more on-topic than the last. While not discussing QOL scores, and not being exclusively focused on palliative care, the barriers often experienced by African Americans in receiving sufficient cancer care are not dissimilar to barriers faced by those residing in less prosperous countries than the United States.

The factors contributing to high rates of occurrence are fairly similar to those I will likely focus on in my literature review. Socioeconomic status, healthcare access disparities, and timing of treatment, in specific, are of great relevance to my work. Genetic predisposition and rates of preventative screening, while important in this instance, are less comparable over various studies.

I appreciated the caveat that explicitly stated that “addressing healthcare injustice requires asking difficult questions and searching for creative answers” (Seyoum, Okunji 3), as it sheds light on the fact that much research (including mine, although hopefully not!) may result in undesired outcomes, and that it is completely reasonable for that to be the case.

Possibly unsurprisingly, accessibility, convenience, and cost were primary determinants for proper screening, prevention, and/or diagnosis. I’m willing to speculate that all three will hold heavy roles in QOL scores as well, once I begin to dive into research focused on that area.