December 19, 2018 – Author:Rich Killewald, Senior Data Manager, Cancer Control Intervention at the American Cancer Society

Rich Killewald is the Senior Data Manager, Cancer Control Intervention at the American Cancer Society. In this role, he manages data and information for a suite of community-based initiatives to increase access to cancer screenings and reduce cancer-related disparities in underserved communities. Throughout his career, Rich has held a number of data management, analysis, and program evaluation positions in regional and nationwide nonprofit organizations. Rich holds a Master of Nonprofit Management degree from Regis University in Denver, CO. He lives in Phoenix, AZ with his wife and two children.

 Rich generally shared his expertise with the NCCRT by analyzing our 2018 80% Partner Survey data, preparing the highlights report, and authoring this guest blog post.

In September 2018, the NCCRT released the fourth annual 80% Partner Survey to more than 1,800 NCCRT members and 80% Pledge partners. We received 240 completed surveys from a diverse group of organizations, including hospitals, community health centers, cancer centers, community organizations, nonprofits, academic institutions, and others. We are so grateful to our members and supporters who took the time to share both valuable feedback about NCCRT resources and about what is and what isn’t working as we continue towards our goal of 80% In Every Community.

The comprehensive overview of the survey results, which was shared with the Steering Committee during the NCCRT Annual Meeting on November 13, is available here. Please see below for key highlights.

Our partners were doing more to increase rates in 2018
Partner organizations were asked about the types of activities used to increase colorectal cancer screening rates (e.g., patient and public education, working with underserved communities, employers, and insurers). While previous results were already impressive, the 2018 results highlighted that our partners were doing more than ever to increase colorectal cancer screening rates. In fact, responding organizations reported doing more activities in 70% of the categories evaluated. What’s also impressive is that many organizations are planning to learn about and do even more activities in the coming months to increase screening rates!

These increased efforts have paid off!
Of the organizations that set goals to track, increase, and/or support a partner with increasing screening rates, 64% of organizations reported their colorectal cancer screening rate increased in the last year. This figure was up three percentage points from 2017.

Interventions work!
Survey responses included many examples of partner organizations implementing and adapting interventions to drive up colorectal screening rates in their communities. “Patient/member reminders and recall” and “Offering patients/members a choice of stool test or colonoscopy” topped the list of successful interventions. See below for the complete list.

NCCRT resources viewed as useful
A key component of the partner survey was to gather information on the awareness and usefulness of NCCRT’s resources (e.g., webinars, Colorectal Cancer Screening Best Practices Handbook for Health Plans, Evaluation Toolkit). Overall, NCCRT resources were viewed as useful by 97.6% of the partner organizations that used the resources. But there is work to be done around building awareness of the resources. Overall, 18.2% of responses did not know about the available resources.

Finally, I’d like to thank our colleagues at the American Cancer Society Statistics & Evaluation Center who programmed and conducted the survey, and again, thank you to NCCRT’s members and 80% by 2018 pledged partners who generously shared their time by completing the survey.