With the American Cancer Society listing colorectal cancer as the second most common cause of cancer deaths among men and women in the country, Mass General Brigham is blitzing Greater Boston with information to keep underserved communities healthy.
Using mobile care vans, phone calls, billboards, MBTA bus advertisements, and radio spots, MGB’s new multimedia, multilingual campaign hopes to get more people screened for colorectal cancer before the disease becomes untreatable.
“We launched this program to encourage all of our community members to think about colorectal cancer screening, to talk with their providers about what they are eligible for and what are the best modalities,” said Dr. Alison Bryant, associate chief health equity officer of MGB.
The program, which began in February, has shown early signs of success, with a 95% enrollment rate among eligible patients in MGB’s primary care system and community care vans, according to a press release sent to MassLive. More than 70% of these enrolled patients have either completed their screenings or scheduled appointments.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, MGB launched its mobile community care van program to provide COVID testing and vaccines. The vans are stationed in communities which MGB has recognized as having lower rates of testing.
Since then, the initiative has expanded to include screenings and interventions for hypertension, diabetes, substance use disorders and now information about colorectal cancer screenings.
Although patients are not able to get screened on the vans themselves, they are met with a navigator who will guide them through the process of getting screened and even setting up transportation for an appointment.
The initiative offers patients flexibility in screening options, including stool-based tests and colonoscopy referrals when necessary. Early results have been encouraging, with medical teams detecting dozens of polyps, potentially preventing future cancer cases, according to Bryant.
An important component of the program is its multilingual support system. Community health workers provide assistance in six languages: Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Creole, Arabic, traditional Chinese and Russian.
“We recognized that if we were only producing that information in English, we were doing a disservice to many of our patients and frankly, to much of our workforce who might prefer other languages,” Bryant said.
Offering services in multiple languages allows the hospital to help patients overcome common barriers such as transportation challenges, understanding preparation instructions and scheduling appointments.
The initiative specifically targets MGB communities where screening rates have been lower than average and where early detection could increase positive health outcomes. Through this approach, MGB aims to reduce colorectal cancer mortality rates among its patients and their families.
“The reason why we’re doing this pilot is because we’re trying to close the gap in the Hispanic and black communities, because we see that they are not getting screened and the mortality rate is a little higher,” said Aida Vizcaino, the community health worker team lead at MGB.
Vizcaino works with a team of 10 community health workers as part of the initiative to increase awareness about colorectal cancer. Their job is to call patients in MGB’s primary care system, from a list of those who have never gotten screened for colorectal cancer, to inform them of the risks of the disease and guide them through the steps to get tested.
“I think it’s been successful,” Vizcaino said. “I would say I’ve been able to reach out to like 150 patients, and most of them agreed to complete a colonoscopy.”
Vizcaino said she believes the language component is one of the most important aspects to increase the likelihood of patients actually beginning the process to get screened.
“They hear a similarity when you speak Spanish, for example, and they can find a connection with you,” Vizcaino said. “They are actually more receptive to complete this service afterwards.”
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