Bowel cancer, also known as colorectal cancer, can affect any part of the colon or rectum; it may also be referred to as colon cancer or rectal cancer, depending on where the cancer is located.
Bowel cancer screening is for people who do not already have bowel cancer, symptoms of bowel cancer, or any reason to have a high risk of bowel cancer.
Patient-centred care is healthcare that is respectful of, and responsive to, the preferences, needs and values of patients and consumers.
Bowel Cancer Australia provides essential support services uniquely designed for bowel cancer patients via our confidential Helpline with specialist telehealth support, as well as a national Peer-to-Peer Support Network and Buddy Program.
Bowel Cancer Australia funds research that has the potential to improve survival and/or help build a path toward a cure and integrates published research into our awareness, advocacy, and support strategies.
Bowel Cancer Australia relies upon donations and the support of hard working and enthusiastic fundraisers across the country to continue our life saving work. We raise funds to continue our life-saving work and inspire others to do the same, so everyone affected by bowel cancer can live their best life.
Every person’s feedback about their colonoscopy experience is unique and valuable.
Your experience with the health system is an important and meaningful measure of quality of care that can be used for performance monitoring purposes and to drive quality improvement.
My Colonoscopy Experience only takes a small amount of time to complete, but it can have a big impact.
Measuring patient colonoscopy experience in Australia is long overdue.
Help us ensure the patient voice is heard, so that future colonoscopy care reflects what patients want and need.
Colonoscopy experience
A colonoscopy is an invasive procedure that allows for the full examination of the lining of your bowel (colon and rectum).
During the procedure, the colonoscopist spends most of the time looking for changes to the normal landscape of your bowel lining and removes anything that looks suspicious, like growths called polyps, which can lead to bowel cancer, for example.
If you are aged 18-and-over and have had a colonoscopy, we invite you to provide feedback about your experience.
My Colonoscopy Experience is a user-friendly and easy to understand questionnaire that can be completed anonymously in around 10 minutes.
Developed by Bowel Cancer Australia and powered by Pulse Infoframe’s secure online platform – healthie, the questions ask about your colonoscopy referral, pre-admission, care and treatment, interaction with staff, discharge from care and any post-procedure issues.
Communicating the unique patient perspective is vital for understanding how to make services better and safer for patients.
Healthcare providers need to understand what ‘good care’ means to patients and exactly what patients experience during their care.
By asking patients questions about their experience using a PREMs questionnaire, it is possible to find out what processes are working well and where things need improvement, so that hospitals and healthcare services can fix them.
The My Colonoscopy Experience questionnaire allows you to report what the colonoscopy experience was like for you, as a patient, because as a patient you can see signs of high or poor quality that may not be seen by staff.
The My Colonoscopy Experience questionnaire can be completed using your desktop computer, smartphone or tablet.
User-friendly and easy to understand, it takes around 10 minutes.
The questions ask about your colonoscopy referral, pre-admission, care and treatment, interaction with staff, discharge from care and any post-procedure issues.
All responses are completely anonymous to ensure no one can be identified.
However, the option is available to include your contact information at the end of the questionnaire if you would like to share additional details about your colonoscopy experience or would like for a Bowel Cancer Australia team member to get in touch with you.
Your feedback ensures that the patient’s voice is heard.
With your help we can make real change happen by highlighting what Australians value most – before, during and following a colonoscopy – from a Colonoscopist’s communication skills to their technical ability and their control of discomfort during the procedure.
The responses from approximately 1,500 women and men across the country ranging in age from 18 to over 75 years old, who had recently undergone colonoscopy provide unique insights not previously reported.
Some of the better aspects of the colonoscopy experience highlighted by respondents included:
Areas for improvement highlighted by respondents indicated:
For more information, download the report.
You can help us amplify the patient’s voice by sharing the My Colonoscopy Experience questionnaire with anyone you know who has received a colonoscopy in Australia.
Every person’s feedback about their colonoscopy experience is unique and valuable. Help us ensure the patient voice is heard, so that future colonoscopy care reflects what patients want and need.