RESEARCH PROJECTS
Interventions to Improve Follow-up of Abnormal Fecal Immunochemical Test (FIT) Results in a Safety-Net Population
Using a mixed-methods approach, this study aims to identify the potentially modifiable patient, provider, and system-level barriers to colonoscopy to inform interventions to improve colonoscopy completion in a population with abnormal FIT results. Analysis of qualitative patient data and finalization of the intervention are ongoing.
Rideshare Transportation Program for Colonoscopy Completion
Through stakeholder engagement, we determined the barriers and facilitators to rideshare transportation use for colonoscopy completion. A pilot of the rideshare transportation program in a population due for CRC screening showed that this intervention could allow individuals to get home safely after a colonoscopy.
Population Health Colorectal Cancer Screening Program
As the inaugural Director of the Population Health CRC program, Dr. Issaka and her team have improved CRC screening across UW Medicine from 55% to 71%. She is leading efforts to optimize mailed FIT outreach and designing tailored interventions to reduce racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities. This work is in partnership with UW Medicine Primary Care & Population Health.
Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Colorectal Mortality in WA State
In Western Washington, CRC mortality is highest in American Indian/Alaska Natives and Black people. We found that delays in diagnostic evaluation after presenting with CRC symptoms alone, do not explain this disparity. An evaluation of surveillance colonoscopy after patients have been diagnosed and treated for CRC that might explain this disparity is ongoing.