FQHCs Show Incomplete Recovery of CRC Screening Rates

Colorectal cancer (CRC) screening rates at federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) across the United States have not bounced back from declines during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study published in The American Journal of Gastroenterology.

“CRC screening rates at FQHCs did not return to prepandemic levels by 2022, and recovery varied by FQHC patient characteristics,” wrote corresponding author Folasade P. May, MD, PhD, MPhil, of the David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, and study coauthors.

CRC screening rates in the United States overall recovered from pandemic lows by 2021, researchers explained. They conducted this investigation to assess trends in in CRC screening specifically in FQHCs, which serve mainly low-income and underinsured patients. 

The study included a total 1281 FQHCs and covered the years 2014 through 2022.

From 2014 to 2019, median CRC screening rates at FQHCs increased, according to the study. Then, in 2020 amid the pandemic, they severely dropped. By 2022, however, they had failed to return to prepandemic levels.

CRC screening declines between 2019 and 2020 were most dramatic in FQHCs that serve mostly Hispanic/Latino patients or a high proportion of patients experiencing homelessness, the study found.

While CRC screening rates did not recover completely from 2020 to 2022, researchers reported a disproportionate recovery among FQHCs that served mostly non-Hispanic Black patients.

“Tailored interventions addressing low and decreasing CRC screening rates in FQHCs are urgently needed to mitigate worsening CRC disparities,” researchers wrote.

Reference

Zhao MY, Lei YY, Aaronson MRM, De Silva SR, Badiee J, May FP. Colorectal cancer screening rates at federally qualified health centers from 2014 to 2022: incomplete recovery from COVID-19 and worsening disparities. Am J Gastroenterol. 2024;119(8):1580-1589