Published in:
01-01-2014 | Original Research
Get Screened: A Randomized Trial of the Incremental Benefits of Reminders, Recall, and Outreach on Cancer Screening
Published in: Journal of General Internal Medicine | Issue 1/2014
Login to get accessABSTRACT
BACKGROUND
Rates of breast cancer (BC) and colorectal cancer (CRC) screening are particularly low among poor and minority patients. Multifaceted interventions have been shown to improve cancer-screening rates, yet the relative impact of the specific components of these interventions has not been assessed. Identifying the specific components necessary to improve cancer-screening rates is critical to tailor interventions in resource limited environments.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the relative impact of various components of the reminder, recall, and outreach (RRO) model on BC and CRC screening rates within a safety net practice.
DESIGN
Pragmatic randomized trial.
PARTICIPANTS
Men and women aged 50–74 years past due for CRC screen and women aged 40–74 years past due for BC screening.
INTERVENTIONS
We randomized 1,008 patients to one of four groups: (1) reminder letter; (2) letter and automated telephone message (Letter + Autodial); (3) letter, automated telephone message, and point of service prompt (Letter + Autodial + Prompt); or (4) letter and personal telephone call (Letter + Personal Call).
MAIN MEASURES
Documentation of mammography or colorectal cancer screening at 52 weeks following randomization.
KEY RESULTS
Compared to a reminder letter alone, Letter + Personal Call was more effective at improving screening rates for BC (17.8 % vs. 27.5 %; AOR 2.2, 95 % CI 1.2–4.0) and CRC screening (12.2 % vs. 21.5 %; AOR 2.0, 95 % CI 1.1–3.9). Compared to letter alone, a Letter + Autodial + Prompt was also more effective at improving rates of BC screening (17.8 % vs. 28.2 %; AOR 2.1, 95 % CI 1.1–3.7) and CRC screening (12.2 % vs. 19.6 %; AOR 1.9, 95 % CI 1.0–3.7). Letter + Autodial was not more effective than a letter alone at improving screening rates.
CONCLUSIONS
The addition of a personal telephone call or a patient-specific provider prompt were both more effective at improving mammogram and CRC screening rates compared to a reminder letter alone. The use of automated telephone calls, however, did not provide any incremental benefit to a reminder letter alone.