Bowel screening in New Zealand: are men and Pacific peoples being left behind?

Colorectal cancer screening participation is influenced by several factors including ethnicity and gender. Results from the first 6 months of a new screening scheme were examined in the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand. All residents aged between 60 and 74 years of age who participated in the scheme by returning a faecal immunochemical test kit were included. Participant ethnicity was compared with 2018 Hawke's Bay Census data. Participants who returned a normal (negative), abnormal (positive) and a spoilt kit (defined as being unable to be processed for testing), were collated and compared for gender and ethnicity. A total of 3444 residents participated in the scheme. Overall, participant ethnicity proportions did not represent the Census population for Hawke's Bay District Health Board residents. The proportions of Maori and Pacific peoples participating were lower than expected. The odds of returning a spoilt kit were six times higher (p = 0.013) for Pacific peoples and four times higher for men (p = 0.040). This short communication suggests that bowel screening programmes in New Zealand need to collate kit return rates and spoilt kits with the numbers of kits that are actually sent out to ensure equity for bowel screening in New Zealand.