Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• McIntosh, Jennifer G
• Jenkins, Mark
• Wood, Anna
• Chondros, Patty
• Campbell, Tina
• Wenkart, Edweana
• O’Reilly, Clare
• Dixon, Ian
• Toner, Julie
• Martinez-Gutierrez, Javiera
• Govan, Linda
• Emery, Jon D

Titel

Increasing bowel cancer screening using SMS in general practice: the SMARTscreen cluster randomised trial

Ist Teil von

• British journal of general practice, 2024-04, Vol.74 (741), p.e275-e282

Erscheinungsjahr

2024

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Background Australia has one of the highest incidences of colorectal cancer (CRC) worldwide. The Australian National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP) is a best-practice, organised screening programme, but uptake is low (40.9%) and increasing participation could reduce morbidity and mortality associated with CRC. Endorsement by GPs is strongly associated with increasing screening uptake. Aim This study (SMARTscreen) aimed to test whether a multi-intervention short message service (SMS) sent by general practices to 50–60-year-old patients who were due to receive the NBCSP kit would increase NBCSP uptake, by comparing it with usual care. Design and setting A stratified cluster randomised controlled trial was undertaken, involving 21 Australian general practices in Western Victoria, Australia. Method For intervention practices, people due to receive the NBCSP kit within a 6-month study period were sent an SMS just before receiving the kit. The SMS included a personalised message from the person’s general practice endorsing the kit, a motivational narrative video, an instructional video, and a link to more information. Control practices continued with usual care, comprising at-home testing with a faecal immunochemical test (FIT) through the NBCSP. The primary outcome was the between-arm percentage difference in uptake of FIT screening within 12 months from randomisation, which was estimated using generalised linear model regression. Results In total, 39.2% (1143/2914) of people in 11 intervention practices and 23.0% (583/2537) of people in 10 control practices had a FIT result in their electronic health records — a difference of 16.5% (95% confidence interval = 2.02 to 30.9). Conclusion The SMS intervention increased NBCSP kit return in 50–60-year-old patients in general practice. This finding informed a larger trial — SMARTERscreen — to test this intervention in a broader Australian population.