PhD project: Colorectal cancer screening: Patient Pathways (CoPPa)

This PhD project aims to uncover and analyze the personal and social factors that are behind over a third of the target group in national colorectal cancer screening programs not participating. As only a very small percentage are actively against this form of screening, much higher participation should be possible - and therefore also improved prevention of colorectal cancer.

The project uses the concept of "health capital" to uncover and analyze these factors. Health capital refers to the resources that a citizen has available in reality or potentially to understand, navigate and make decisions about health services (both public and private). These resources can be social (friends and family, (un)official patient organizations, etc.), lifestyle and economy-based (diet, exercise, smoking, economy for self-care, etc.) or cultural (education, interest in/understanding of the body and health, communicative skills, experiences with the health care system, relation to competing health expert systems, etc.).

Through a qualitative study, the project identifies which factors are most decisive for non-participation in colorectal cancer screenings. Then the specific meaning of these factors is determined through a quantitative analysis. In this way, the project provides an opportunity to improve the (communication) efforts towards non-participants in screening programs, as well as to validate health capital as an analytical tool for behavior analysis.

Participants:

Winnie Poulsen, PhD Student, Department of Public Health, SDU
Kaare Christensen, Professor, Department of Public Health, SDU
Maria Timofeeva, Assistant Professor, Department of Public Health, SDU
Anna Schneider-Kamp, Associate Professor, Department of Business & Management, SDU
Read more about Anna Schneider-Kamp here
Søren Askegaard, Professor, Department of Business & Management, SDU
Read more about Søren Askegaard here