Contemplating cancer screening

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Cancer screening can save lives through early detection, and optimized uptake of screening maximizes population-level benefits. Seemingly small improvements in screening participation through behavioural intervention have considerable implications in practice, including saving lives and reducing health system spending.

When testing the effects of invitational strategies in the colorectal cancer screening context, completion and return of a home screening test kit is often the outcome of interest. Early studies in the 1980s and 1990s used advance notification letters alongside other strategies to invite participation. In 2007, Cole and colleagues conducted a community trial to test the efficacy of three different mailed invitational strategies against a control condition of a standard invitation letter, each accompanying a home testing kit. The primary outcome was return of the completed testing kit by 12 weeks after the screening invitation. Importantly, return rates were significantly higher among the randomly assigned invitees who were mailed an advance notification letter two weeks before the control materials. This significant difference persisted after accounting for the two weeks of extra lead time in the advance notification condition. In a later study, Zajac and colleagues targeted advance notification letters specifically for men to further improve screening participation in this under-screened group.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)375
Number of pages1
JournalNature Reviews Psychology
Volume3
Issue number6
Early online date30 Apr 2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2024

Keywords

  • Human behaviour
  • Psychology

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