Randomized Controlled Trial of Advance Notification Phone Calls vs Text Messages Prior to Mailed Fecal Test Outreach

Abstract

BACKGROUND & AIMS:Mailing fecal immunochemical test (FITs) to individuals who are due for screening (mailed FIT outreach) increases colorectal cancer (CRC) screening. Little is known about how phone-based advance notifications (primers) affect the effectiveness of mailed FIT outreach programs. METHODS:We performed a prospective study of patients at a large urban health center, 50-75 years old and due for screening, with no record of a prior FIT. Participants were randomly assigned to groups that received a live phone call primer (n [ 1203) or a text message primer (n [ 1622), from June through December 2018. The participants were then mailed a FIT kit, followed by 2 automated calls, and live reminder calls delivered by the care team. The main outcome was completion of FIT within 3 months of assignment to the live phone call or text message group. RESULTS:Participants had a FIT completion rate of 16.8%, a mean age of 58 years, and 80% were Latino.In adjusted intention to treat analyses (n [ 2825), FIT completion rates were higher in the patients assigned to receive a live phone call vs text message primer (percentage point difference, 3.3%; 95% CI, 0.4%-6.2%). Between-group differences increased to 7.3% points (95% CI, 3.6%-11.0%) in the per-protocol analysis of 2144 participants reached by the text message (1320/1622, 81%), live call (438/1203, 36%), or voice message (386/1203, 32%). This rate increased to 14.9% points (95% CI; 9.6%-20.1%) in the per-protocol analysis of 1758 participants reached by the text message or reached by the live call. CONCLUSIONS:In a randomized trial, advance notification live phone calls outperformed text messages in prompting health center patients who had not previously completed a FIT to complete a mailed FIT. Clinicaltrials.gov no: NCT03167125

Effect of Text Message Reminders on Attendance at Cervical Cancer Screening Appointments in a Predominantly Hispanic Population

“…While text message reminders were more effective than no reminders in most studies we found (Vidal et al, 2014; Wong et al, 2017), some studies showed no difference between text messages and no reminders in receipt of a cancer prevention service (Hirst et al, 2017). In addition, the receipt of cancer screening services tended to be higher in the telephone arm in those studies that compared telephone call reminders to text message reminders (Coronado et al, 2020; Wong et al, 2017).…”

“…Sample size and power analysis: Our primary aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of phone reminders with text message reminders on cervical cancer screening completion rates. Previous studies reported 11%-15% higher completion rates in phone call reminders compared to text reminders (Coronado et al, 2020;Wong et al, 2017). Assuming at least 10% difference in screening rates between arms with a 54% baseline rate of screening, we determined a sample size of 800 (400 per arm) was required to detect a significant difference between arms with more than 80% power using two-sided Fisher's exact test at 5% level of significance.…”

The implementation and mechanisms of advance notification for cancer screening: A scoping review

“…Methods identified in the current review included encouraging recipients to reflect on barriers to screening and assisting them in devising strategies to overcome them. 34,51 This process is known as coping planning, and according to the Health Action Process Approach, is key to facilitating the transition from intending to screen to screening participation. 20 Primary care providers such as general practitioners can apply these coping planning strategies to allay patient concerns about screening and increase their likelihood of participation upon screening invitation.…”

“…Of the 32 included articles (detailed in Table 1), six described the same advance notification, 34,35,37,46,49,51 and six described more than one different advance notification. 24,40,47,51,54,55 This resulted in 33 unique advance notifications included in this review.…”

Using Text Messages and Fotonovelas to Increase Return of Home-Mailed Colorectal Cancer Screening Tests: Mixed Methods Evaluation

“…However, few studies have addressed the effectiveness of texting in supporting CRC screening and colonoscopy preparation [ 12 ]. Some studies have used texting campaigns to send one-way text message reminders and educational content to patients [ 13 - 15 ], but few studies have used bidirectional texting, in which the system is built for patients to reply to the initial text messages and receive automated responses from the texting platform [ 5 , 16 - 18 ].…”