Nationwide, rates of colorectal cancer (CRC) screening remain low while the burden of disease has increased, particularly in underserved communities. Barriers to CRC screening in these communities include a lack of awareness regarding the risks of CRC and screening modalities, logistical barriers to screening, and patient discomfort with colonoscopy. Mobile clinics are uniquely situated to address these barriers by increasing access to CRC screening. However, despite 13% of mobile clinics providing CRC screening, there is a gap in data on the effectiveness of mobile clinics on CRC screening, outreach programs, and interventions.  

To address disparities in CRC, The University of Minnesota Mobile Health Initiative (MHI) partnered with three local community-based organizations (CBOs) to pilot a program for CRC prevention and education in Fall of 2024. Our program incorporates health education around CRC prevention, the provision of stool-based CRC screening tests (specifically Cologuard) via a partnership with Exact Sciences, and collaboration between CBOs, the University of Minnesota Masonic Cancer Clinic, and a community health worker (CHW) from MHI to facilitate care coordination and provide patient navigation services. Crucially, this program also includes follow-up care, as MHI formed a relationship with a local gastroenterology group who has agreed to provide free diagnostic colonoscopies for under and uninsured patients who have an abnormal stool test.  

Our health information management system, REDCap, will allow us to track community-level information, including baseline rates of knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs surrounding CRC as well as individual intention to screen, which is an accepted outcome in the CRC screening literature. By the end of August 2025, we will have enrolled patients at over 10 events and will have data ready to present regarding the feasibility of a mobile CRC screening program, including the number of patients enrolled in the program, rates of positive/negative Cologuard tests, rates of follow-up colonoscopies (including those lost to follow-up), and CRC diagnosis. We plan to share this data, along with lessons learned from program implementation and best practices, so that other mobile clinics can implement similar interventions with the goal of improving morbidity and mortality related to CRC in the United States.  

Learning Objectives: Understand the burden of colorectal cancer in underserved communities, screening modalities for CRC, and evidenced-based approaches to increasing CRC rates in underserved communities Recognize how mobile clinics are uniquely situated to reduce morbidity and mortality related to CRC in underserved populations Appreciate different approaches to mobile CRC screening and the common challenges that come with mobile CRC screening.