Text messaging as a tool to improve cancer screening programs

• Published in: PloS one 2021-01, Vol.16 (1), p.e0245806
• Main Authors: Vives, Nuria, Farre, Albert, Ibáñez-Sanz, Gemma, Vidal, Carmen, Binefa, Gemma, Milà, Núria, Pérez-Lacasta, Maria Jose, Travier, Noemie, Benito, Llucia, Espinàs, Josep Alfons, Bagaria, Guillermo, Garcia, Montse
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Breast cancer; Cancer; Colorectal cancer; Diagnosis; Health aspects; Health promotion; Methods; Text messaging
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0245806

Short message service (SMS) based interventions are widely used in healthcare and have shown promising results to improve cancer screening programs. However, more research is still needed to implement SMS in the screening process. We present a study protocol to assess the impact on health and economics of three targeted SMS-based interventions in population-based cancer screening programs. The M-TICs study is a randomized controlled trial with a formal process evaluation. Participants aged 50-69 years identified as eligible from the colorectal cancer (CRC) and breast cancer (BC) screening program of the Catalan Institute of Oncology (Catalonia, Spain) will be randomly assigned to receive standard invitation procedure (control group) or SMS-based intervention to promote participation. Two interventions will be conducted in the CRC screening program: 1) Screening invitation reminder: Those who do not participate in the CRC screening within 6 weeks of invite will receive a reminder (SMS or letter); 2) Reminder to complete and return fecal immunochemical test (FIT) kit: SMS reminder versus no intervention to individuals who have picked up a FIT kit at the pharmacy and they have not returned it after 14 days. The third intervention will be performed in the BC screening program. Women who had been screened previously will receive an SMS invitation or a letter invitation to participate in the screening.