Abstract Introduction
Bowel cancer screening home-testing kits are offered every two years to individuals aged 60-74 years in England. Prisoners are eligible for screening in the same way as the general population. MethodsSemi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with eight prisoners and four staff members in a male prison in North West England.
Results
There was high willingness amongst prisoners to be screened for bowel cancer, with screening seen as important and having benefits for the individual and the wider healthcare system. However, there was often minimal awareness of bowel cancer screening and there psychological challenges associated with screening. Prison healthcare staff were widely respected and a strong motivator to accept screening, with prisoners viewing prison as a good opportunity to access healthcare. However, prison life was characterised by competing priorities, with security taking precedence, and screening was sometimes a low priority for staff and prisoners. Providing good-quality understandable information, though challenging, was key.
Conclusions
This is the first project to explore bowel cancer screening in English prisons and promoting and impeding factors to the take-up of bowel cancer screening in prisons have been identified. This information could be utilised by commissioners and policy-makers to design staff and prisoner interventions to maximise uptake of bowel cancer screening in prisons. External funding details