Assessment of Individuals’ Perceived Benefits of and Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screening
Esra Aydın1, Sema Yılmaz Rakıcı1, Cüneyt Ardıç11Department of Medical Oncology, Recep Tayyip Erdogan University Faculty of Medicine, Rize, Türkiye
Objectives: This study aimed to examine individuals’ perceived benefits of and barriers to colorectal cancer (CRC) screening and to identify the sociodemographic and clinical factors influencing these perceptions. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted with 201 participants who presented to the outpatient clinics of our hospital. Data were collected using a sociodemographic characteristics form and the CRC Screening Benefits and Barriers Scale. Descriptive statistics, the independent-samples t-test, one-way ANOVA, the Mann-Whitney U test, correlation analysis, and multivariate regression analysis were used. Results: A total of 201 individuals aged 50 and above were enrolled, with a mean age of 59.30±7.01 years, and 53.2% were female. More than half of the participants (57.7%) had never undergone CRC screening, and 60.3% reported no intention of doing so. Mean subscale scores for the CRC Screening Benefits and Barriers Scale were 9.04±2.18 for fecal occult blood test (FOBT) benefits, 19.06±4.42 for FOBT barriers, 11.86±2.64 for colonoscopy (COL) benefits, and 34.01±6.58 for COL barriers, indicating that perceived barriers to COL were the highest among all measured perceptions. Men scored significantly higher on the FOBT barriers subscale than women (p=0.003). Education level was positively associated with both FOBT benefits (p=0.001) and COL benefits scores (p=0.009), with university graduates reporting the highest perceived benefits. No significant association was found between age or BMI and any subscale score (p>0.05). Individuals who had previously undergone CRC screening had higher benefits scores and lower COL barriers scores compared with those who had never been screened (p<0.05). Participants with constipation had significantly higher COL benefits scores (p=0.013). In multivariate regression analysis, education level (?=0.292, p=0.001) and constipation (?=0.145, p=0.033) were independent predictors of higher FOBT benefits scores, explaining 10.4% of the variance. Male sex independently increased perceived FOBT barriers (?=0.143, p=0.046). Higher COL benefits scores were independently associated with education level (?=0.258, p=0.001) and constipation (?=0.184, p=0.007), while a family history of cancer was associated with lower COL barriers scores (?=-0.163, p=0.022). Conclusion: CRC screening rates in our study were low, and perceived barriers, particularly for COL, substantially exceeded perceived benefits. Higher education level and prior screening experience were associated with greater perceived benefits, while men reported greater perceived barriers to screening. These findings suggest that interventions targeting barrier reduction and benefit awareness are needed to improve screening participation. Keywords: Colorectal Cancer Screening, Colonoscopy, Fecal Occult Blood Test, Perceived Benefits And Barriers, Preventive Health Behavior; Primary Health Care, Screening Behavior
Cite This Article
Aydın E, Yılmaz Rakıcı S, Ardıç C. Assessment of Individuals’ Perceived Benefits of and Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screening. EJMI. 2026; 10(2): 139-149
Corresponding Author: Esra Aydın