Participant’s experience of colonoscopy to improve bowel surveillance

Lead researcher: Professor Katie Robb 

Location: University of Glasgow 

Grant award: £24,986 

Professor Robb is studying how people feel about being invited to future colonoscopies if they’ve already had polyps (non-cancerous growths) removed, and what barriers there are to attending. 

The challenge 

When people take part in bowel screening and the poo test finds blood in their poo, they’re invited for a colonoscopy. Around 1 in 20 will be found to have cancer. But, more people will have a precancerous growth called a polyp. This can be removed during the colonoscopy. 

Some people who have had a polyp removed can have a higher risk of getting further polyps in the future, which can develop into bowel cancer. These people are invited back for another colonoscopy to check (called a surveillance colonoscopy) three years later. 

Success of bowel screening relies on people taking part in tests when invited. There’s been a lot of work to improve uptake of poo testing and initial colonoscopies, but not much research into surveillance colonoscopies. Some people find colonoscopies unpleasant. This means they might not like colonoscopies as a way to check for bowel cancer after polyps are removed. They also might avoid or miss their appointments when they’re invited back.

The science behind the project 

Professor Robb’s team will be interviewing people who had polyps removed in a colonoscopy after bowel screening and have been invited to a future surveillance colonoscopy. The researchers want to understand the patients’ experience of colonoscopy, what they think of surveillance colonoscopies and if they faced any barriers to taking part. 

What difference will this project make? 

Better understanding of how patients feel about surveillance colonoscopies will tell screening programmes how to better support people. The aim is to improve uptake and detect any developing cancers as early as possible. In particular, a better understanding of why people might not take part (and any ways to avoid this) will reduce screening inequalities.

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