Improving Adherence to Colorectal Cancer Screening Through Text and Mail Outreach in Community Clinic Patients

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are evaluating a multicomponent behavioral intervention designed to improve adherence to colorectal cancer screening in adults aged 45 to 75. This pragmatic trial aims to compare usual care with different outreach messaging strategies to increase the number of participants who schedule or complete colorectal cancer screening. The study is sponsored by Yale University and focuses on patients at community clinics who have incomplete or abnormal colorectal cancer screening tests. Participants are randomly assigned to one of four groups a control group receiving usual care with a simple text reminder, or one of three experimental groups receiving a bundled outreach including text messages with two-way communication, mailed letters, and clinician reminders. The text messages vary in content across the three experimental groups to assess different behavioral motivations. The trial monitors participants over several months following randomization. During the study, participants colorectal cancer screening completion is tracked up to three months after randomization, with additional follow-up up to six months. Researchers collect data on screening scheduling, diagnostic colonoscopy completion after abnormal stool tests, response to messages, and provider engagement with reminders. The primary outcome is the number of participants who schedule or complete screening within three months, with secondary outcomes including completion within six months and response rates to outreach messages.

Colorectal Cancer Screening Outreach