U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

Increase the proportion of adults who get screened for colorectal cancer — C‑07 Data Methodology and Measurement

This objective is a Leading Health Indicator (LHI). Learn about LHIs.

On this page:  About the National Data  |  Methodology  |  History

About the National Data

Data

Data Source:  National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), CDC/NCHS

Baseline: 58.7 percent of adults aged 45 to 75 years received a colorectal cancer screening based on the most recent guidelines in 2021

Target: 68.3 percent

Numerator
Number of adults aged 45 to 75 years who received a colorectal cancer screening based on the most recent USPSTF recommendation.
Denominator
Number of adults aged 45 to 75 years, excluding those with a history of colorectal cancer.
Target-setting method
Percentage point improvement
Target-setting method details
Percentage point improvement from the baseline using Cohen's h effect size of 0.20.
1
Target-setting method justification
Trend data were evaluated for this objective but it was not possible to project a target because the slope of the line was not statistically significant. A percentage point improvement was calculated using Cohen's h effect size of 0.2. This method was used because the proportion of adults receiving colorectal screening, based on the most recent guidelines, improved over the past decade. The Healthy People 2030 Workgroup Subject Matter Experts took into consideration the observed improvement and emergence, along with uptake, of improved and less invasive screening technologies, when selecting the target.

Methodology

Methodology notes

Healthy People 2030 uses the current U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendation to measure this objective: 1. Grade A: offer or provide this service for ages 50-75; and 2. Grade B: offer or provide this service for ages 45-49.
Data include persons who have had a blood stool test (gFOBT or FIT) within the past year, sigmoidoscopy within the past 5 years or, a colonoscopy within the past 10 years, or Stool DNA-FIT (sDNA-FIT) within the past three years, or CT colonography within the past 5 years.
The denominator does not include respondents who reported ever having colorectal cancer.
The baseline was updated based on the changes to the USPSTF recommendation for colorectal cancer, which was released in May 2021.

History

Comparable HP2020 objective
Modified, which includes core objectives that are continuing from Healthy People 2020 but underwent a change in measurement.
Changes between HP2020 and HP2030
This objective differs from Healthy People 2020 objective C-16 in that the measure was revised to match updated screening recommendations put forth by the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF).
Revision History
Revised. 

In 2023, due to the updated USPSTF recommendation, the 2019 NHIS survey redesign, and a revised denominator to exclude persons with a history of colorectal cancer, the baseline for this objective was changed from 65.2% in 2018 to 58.7% in 2021 and the target was changed from 74.4% to 68.3%.

1. Effect size h=0.2 was chosen to correspond with 20% improvement from a baseline of 50%.