A Comparison of Colorectal Cancer Screening Uptake among Average-Risk Insured American Indian/Alaska Native and White Women

Introduction. American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) women have among the lowest rates of colorectal cancer (CRC) screening. Whether screening disparities persist with equal access to health care is unknown. Methods. Using administrative data from 1996-2007, we compared CRC screening events for 286 AI/AN and 14,042 White women aged 50 years and older from a health maintenance organization in the Pacific Northwest of the U.S. Results. The proportion of AI/AN and White women screened for CRC at age 50 was similar (13.3% vs. 14.0%, p = .74). No differences were seen in the type of screening test. Time elapsed to first screening among AI/AN women who were not screened at age 50 did not differ from White women (hazard ratio 1.0, 95% confidence interval 0.8-1.3). Conclusions. Uptake for CRC screening was similar among insured AI/AN and White women, suggesting that when access to care is equal, racial disparities in screening diminish.