Increasing Uptake of Bowel Screening

Summary

Bowel cancer is the second biggest cancer killer in the UK, accounting for over 16,000 deaths per year. Screening can reduce deaths from bowel cancer if the people invited participate. The challenge is that high uptake of bowel screening is hard to achieve, and remains persistently below 65%.

The faecal immunochemical test (FIT) is the most widely used bowel screening test worldwide.

In the UK, FIT kits are mailed to people's homes without guidance on when the kit should be returned and only brief instruction on how to use it. Some people have said that even though they intend to complete and return the kit, they often forget or put off doing it.

Two approaches are proposed to addressing this issue: i) providing a suggested deadline for FIT return, because it is known from breast and cervical cancer screening that giving people an appointment time increases uptake compared to an open invitation, and ii) planning sheets, that have been found to help people act on their intentions in other health contexts.

This trial aims to evaluate the impact of providing a suggested deadline and a planning sheet on the return of FIT bowel screening kits.

The trial is integrated within the Scottish Bowel Screening Programme. The investigators will randomly allocate 40,000 consecutive people that are due to be sent a FIT kit to one of eight groups:

(i) control group (no deadline, no planning sheet), (ii) intervention group (1-week deadline, no planning sheet), (iii) intervention group (2-week deadline, no planning sheet), (iv) intervention group (4-week deadline, no planning sheet), (v) intervention group (no deadline, with planning sheet), (vi) intervention group (1-week deadline, with planning sheet), (vii) intervention group (2-week deadline, with planning sheet), (viii) intervention group (4-week deadline, with planning sheet).

It will then be examined if having a suggested deadline and a planning sheet affects how many people send back their completed FIT kit. It will also be examined if the deadline length makes a difference and whether having both a deadline and a planning sheet affects the number of people returning their kit.

Finally, the cognitive and behavioural mechanisms underlying any intervention effects will be assessed and the acceptability of the interventions explored, using questionnaires and in-depth interviews.

Conditions

• Colorectal Cancer

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Suggested deadline for return of screening test

A screening invitation letter modified to state, highlighted in yellow: "Please return your kit within \[X\] weeks (by \[DD.MM.YYYY\]) or as soon as possible."

BEHAVIORAL

Planning sheet

A planning tool presented on a separate single sheet of paper inserted into the screening invitation envelope. The colour illustrated tool prompts participants to identify concerns they have with using the bowel screening kit and to link them to a tip to help them overcome this concern.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde

  collaborator OTHER

• NHS Tayside

  collaborator OTHER_GOV

• University of Cambridge

  collaborator OTHER

• University of St Andrews

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Stirling

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Dundee

  collaborator OTHER

• Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Government

  collaborator OTHER_GOV

• Cancer Research UK

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Glasgow

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Katie Robb · University of Glasgow

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Masking

TRIPLE

Model

FACTORIAL

Eligibility

Min Age

50 Years

Max Age

74 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2022-06-20

Primary Completion

2022-10-03

Completion

2023-06-30

Countries

• United Kingdom

Study Locations