In the 21st century, the cancer incidence rate remains alarmingly high, causing additional stress on communities. Among its varieties, colorectal cancer is one of the most serious issues due to its high mortality and associated complications. As identified earlier, the problem is particularly topical among older adults, as most cases belong to the age category of 60-75 for all genders. Without urgent care, colorectal cancer shortly develops metastases that are found in one-third of all patients, leading to a negative prognosis. In this regard, it is imperative to design new interventions against this condition that are based on solid evidence from clinical practice. It is common knowledge that prevention is better than cure. In the case of cancer, the early stages of the disease are more susceptible to treatment and full recovery, but they are difficult to identify in time. Accordingly, most effective interventions are expected to revolve around the early identification of the condition.
This topic is highly present in the contemporary clinical and academic knowledge body. Lauby-Secretan et al. (2018) refer to the statistics, indicating that colorectal cancer accounts for 10% of the global oncology incidence. The mortality is affected by such variables as household income and the stage of diagnostics. Rawla et al. (2019) elaborate on the topic, adding that colorectal cancer is currently the third leading cancer in the world in terms of mortality. Accordingly, the medical community has been designing new interventions against the spread of this disease. Interestingly, most of them aim at early screening and identification of cancer in order to instill full remission during the first stages of its development (Araghi et al., 2019). Therefore, the planned intervention is to be prepared in light of this target.
Screening is an essential component of timely cancer identification and treatment. According to Ladabaum et al. (2020), while colorectal cancer is increasingly lethal in advanced stages, it is also susceptible to treatment during the earlier ones. They also discuss the importance of using new technology in colorectal screening. However, these advancements will be of limited use unless community members reciprocate by increased screening engagement. Evidently, it is associated with highly delicate, often uncomfortable procedures that most people tend to avoid unless there are serious concerns (Cardoso et al., 2021). Walter et al. (2021) argue in favor of modern technological tools that promote colorectal cancer education among adults and older adults. Informing people about the importance of screening and timely prevention is an essential step toward alleviating this pressing concern.
The proposed intervention aims to raise public awareness regarding the importance of colorectal screening, especially among older adults. As per the literary findings, this program will incorporate modern technology in the form of educational websites and mobile applications. Indeed, the elderly may not be active users of digital platforms, but their children are. Having received key information regarding the benefits of regular check-ups, family members will affect the decision-making of elderly patients through their personal influence. Lewin’s change theory will be the core guideline for implementing this plan.
In order to combat the lack of engagement, the information will be presented in a lighter with a variety of visuals and easy language. The lightness of the material will not affect its informativeness, as they will rely on solid academic data and clinical expertise of the past five years to incorporate up-to-date knowledge. The implementation of the outreach program will be evaluated as per the growth of elderly patients who address the organization for a colorectal examination. The secondary metric will include the decrease in 5-year colorectal cancer mortality.
References
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Cardoso, R., Guo, F., Heisser, T., Hackl, M., Ihle, P., De Schutter, H., Van Damme, N., Valerianova, Z., Atanasov, T., Majek, O., Muzik, J., Nilbert, C., Tyjberg, A. J., Innos, K., Magi, M., Malila, N., Bouvier, A. M., Bouvier, V., … & Brenner, H. (2021). Colorectal cancer incidence, mortality, and stage distribution in European countries in the colorectal cancer screening era: An international population-based study. Oncology, 22(7), 1002–1013. Web.
Ladabaum, U., Dominitz, J. A., Kahi, C., & Schoen, R. E. (2020). Strategies for Colorectal Cancer Screening. Gastroenterology, 158(2), 418–432. Web.
Lauby-Secretan, B., Vilahur, N., Bianchini, F., Guha, N., & Straif, K. (2018). The IARC perspective on colorectal cancer screening. The New England Journal of Medicine, 378, 1734–1740.
Rawla, P., Sunkara, T., & Barsouk, A. (2019). Epidemiology of colorectal cancer: incidence, mortality, survival, and risk factors. Przeglad Gastroenetrologiczny, 14(2), 89–103. Web.
Walter, B., Frank, R., Ludwig, L., Dikopoulos, N., Mayr, M., Neu, B., Mayer, B., Hann, A., Meier, B., Caca, K., Seufferlein, T., & Meining, A. (2021). Smartphone application to reinforce education increase high-quality preparation for colorectal cancer screening colonoscopies in a randomized trial. Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 19(2), 331–338. Web.