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: 65.2 percent of adults aged 50 to 75 years received a colorectal cancer screening based on the most recent guidelines in 2018

Target: 74.4 percent

Numerator
Number of adults aged 50 to 75 years who received a colorectal cancer screening based on the most recent USPSTF recommendation.
Denominator
Number of adults aged 50 to 75 years.
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

The following methodology applies to the NHIS prior to the survey redesign. With the redesigned survey, the tests captured here may be different: Data include persons who have had a blood stool test in the past year, sigmoidoscopy in the past 10 years and blood stool test every year, a colonoscopy in the past 10 years, sigmoidoscopy every 5 years, FIT-DNA (or Cologuard®) every three years, or virtual colonoscopy every 5 years. Healthy People 2020 uses the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendations to measure this objective and the current USPSTF recommendations (Grade A) recommend screening for colorectal cancer using fecal occult blood testing annually, sigmoidoscopy 10 years with fecal occult blood testing every year, colonoscopy 10 years, sigmoidoscopy every 5 years, FIT-DNA (or Cologuard®) every three years, or virtual colonoscopy every 5 years for persons aged 50 to 75 years.

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).

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

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