Abstract

People living with a disability represent one of the most marginalized populations, with substantial disparities being observed in healthcare utilization. This extends to colorectal cancer screening, as people living with disability are significantly less likely to receive or attend cancer screening programs. Although it is proposed that people with disability share many of the same barriers to cancer screening as people without disabilities, the low utilization rate among people with disabilities suggests that there are additional barriers and challenges. Hence, this literature review aims to identify and discuss the barriers to colorectal cancer screening in people with disabilities, inclusive of both physical and intellectual disabilities. We identified a range of barriers at individual and systemic levels that had a substantial impact on the participation in colorectal cancer screening by people with disabilities.

Key words: Barriers to screening, colorectal screening and early detection, screening colonoscopy, colorectal cancer, disabilities