Text Messaging Interventions on Cancer Screening Rates: A Systematic Review

Abstract

BackgroundDespite high-quality evidence demonstrating that screening reduces mortality from breast, cervical, colorectal, and lung cancers, a substantial portion of the population remains inadequately screened. There is a critical need to identify interventions that increase the uptake and adoption of evidence-based screening guidelines for preventable cancers at the community practice level. Text messaging (short message service, SMS) has been effective in promoting behavioral change in various clinical settings, but the overall impact and reach of text messaging interventions on cancer screening are unknown.ObjectiveThe objective of this systematic review was to assess the effect of text messaging interventions on screening for breast, cervical, colorectal, and lung cancers.MethodsWe searched multiple databases for studies published between the years 2000 and 2017, including PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library, to identify controlled trials that measured the effect of text messaging on screening for breast, cervical, colorectal, or lung cancers. Study quality was evaluated using the Cochrane risk of bias tool.ResultsOur search yielded 2238 citations, of which 31 underwent full review and 9 met inclusion criteria. Five studies examined screening for breast cancer, one for cervical cancer, and three for colorectal cancer. No studies were found for lung cancer screening. Absolute screening rates for individuals who received text message interventions were 0.6% to 15.0% higher than for controls. Unadjusted relative screening rates for text message recipients were 4% to 63% higher compared with controls.ConclusionsText messaging interventions appear to moderately increase screening rates for breast and cervical cancer and may have a small effect on colorectal cancer screening. Benefit was observed in various countries, including resource-poor and non-English-speaking populations. Given the paucity of data, additional research is needed to better quantify the effectiveness of this promising intervention.

Effectiveness of a short message service intervention to motivate people with positive results in preliminary colorectal cancer screening to undergo colonoscopy: A randomized controlled trial

“…Our study showed that in comparison with the usual care, sending 1 text message biweekly for 6 months could double the rate of colonoscopy uptake among most of them focused on FOBT uptake. 22 Our findings provide evidence that an SMS intervention may be a simple and effective approach to promote colonoscopy Cancer July 1, 2019 adherence among residents with positive preliminary screening results. Because colonoscopy is crucial for the early diagnosis and treatment of CRC, our findings lay the foundation for the community-wide implementation of a CRC screening program both in China and in other countries.…”

“…Our study showed that in comparison with the usual care, sending 1 text message biweekly for 6 months could double the rate of colonoscopy uptake among community residents with positive preliminary screening results. Only a limited number of RCTs in the literature used SMS interventions to improve CRC screening, and most of them focused on FOBT uptake . Our findings provide evidence that an SMS intervention may be a simple and effective approach to promote colonoscopy adherence among residents with positive preliminary screening results.…”

“…Because of its convenience and low cost, a short message service (SMS) intervention has been widely used to promote cancer screening . Hagoel et al found that short messages could improve the FOBT screening rate from 9% to 24% in Israel.…”

“…21 Because of its convenience and low cost, a short message service (SMS) intervention has been widely used to promote cancer screening. 22 Hagoel et al 23 found that short messages could improve the FOBT screening rate from 9% to 24% in Israel. In addition, Hirst et al 24 found that short messages could improve FOBT screening in the United Kingdom.…”

Preferences of Underserved Chilean Women on a Mobile Technology Intervention for Cervical Cancer Screening: Qualitative Study (Preprint)

“…Recently, evidence showed that these interventions have been able to increase cancer screening adherence [9][10][11]. A study on Korean American women using a one-week text message intervention, increased acceptability to cervical cancer screening [12] However, there is insufficient evidence to characterize maximally effective interventions, and none of these studies have taken place in Latinamerican countries.…”