Can Text Reminders Improve Uptake of Cervical Screening?
1 other identifier
interventional
14,597
1 country
1
Brief Summary
Cervical cancer is the most common cancer in women under 35 years and is a major public health concern. Fortunately, the natural history of this malignancy can be beneficially improved through cytological screening. However, the success of screening programmes depends on their ability to attract the "at risk" population, as well as the analytical sensitivity and specificity of the screening test. In the UK, screening consistently falls short of the 80% national target and recent evidence shows uptake is decreasing, in part due to the introduction of HPV vaccination programmes. In the under 30s London population, average coverage only reached 50% in 2013. Given this information, the cervical screening programme is under increasing pressure to improve uptake, and need an evidence based intervention. We aim to improve the uptake of cervical screening using SMS messaging through a randomised controlled trial. The trail will evaluate both the prevalent and incident rounds of screening and within the intervention group, analyse how the content of text reminders influences their effectiveness. Specifically we will evaluate a) neutral b) messenger c) social norms d) framed gain/loss reminders. Unlike our previous trial, this SMS reminder will encourage the booking of an appointment which has never been tested, rather than simply reminding women to attend. All women being invited for cervical screening, registered at participating GPs within Hillingdon will be eligible to participate. Women will also be provided with a 2 week window during which they can opt out of the research. Given the sample sizes we predict the trial will take 9 months.
Trial Health
Trial Health Score
Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach
participants targeted
Target at P75+ for not_applicable
Started Feb 2015
1 active site
Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.
Trial Relationships
Click on a node to explore related trials.
Study Timeline
Key milestones and dates
Study Start
First participant enrolled
February 1, 2015
CompletedFirst Submitted
Initial submission to the registry
February 9, 2015
CompletedFirst Posted
Study publicly available on registry
February 13, 2015
CompletedPrimary Completion
Last participant's last visit for primary outcome
February 1, 2016
CompletedStudy Completion
Last participant's last visit for all outcomes
February 1, 2016
CompletedOctober 25, 2018
October 1, 2018
1 year
February 9, 2015
October 23, 2018
Conditions
Keywords
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcomes (1)
Intention to treat analysis
Analysis of the rate of cervical screening by trial arm at the end of the screening round (32 weeks)
13 months
Secondary Outcomes (3)
Attendance by age (control vs interventions)
13 months
Attendance by level of deprivation (control vs interventions)
13 month
Per protocol analysis using SMS delivery status data to compared the rate of cervical screening in women who receive the SMS at the end of the screening round (32 weeks from screening invitation)
13 months
Study Arms (9)
No intervention, 24-29 years
NO INTERVENTIONNo intervention, group 24-29 years. Women will receive the written invitation to screening only
Messenger text message reminder, 24-29
EXPERIMENTALMessenger text message reminder, group 24-29 years.
No intervention, 30-64 years
NO INTERVENTIONNo intervention group 30-64 years, Women will receive the written invitation to screening only
Neutral text message reminder, 30-64
EXPERIMENTALNeutral Text message, group 30-64 years
Messenger text message reminder, 30-64
EXPERIMENTALMessenger text message reminder, group 30-64
Social Norms A reminder, 30-64
EXPERIMENTALSocial Norms (population proportion) text message reminder, group 30-64 years
Social Norms B reminder, 30-64
EXPERIMENTALSocial Norms (population total) text message reminder, group 30-64 years
Framed gain text reminder, 30-64
OTHERFramed gain text message reminder, group 30-64 years
Framed loss text reminder, 30-64
EXPERIMENTALFramed loss text message reminder, group 30-64 years
Interventions
"Your cervical smear test is due. To book please call \<xxxxxxxxxxx\>"
"\<GP NAME\>: Your cervical smear test is due. To book please call \<xxxxxxxxxxx\>"
"Last year in Hillingdon 7 out of 10 women took part in cervical screening. Your cervical smear test is due. To book please call \<xxxxxxxxxxx\>"
"Last year 12000 women in Hillingdon took part in cervical screening. Your cervical smear test is due. To book please call \<xxxxxxxxxxx\>"
"Cervical cancer screening saves 4500 lives in England every year. Your cervical smear test is due. To book please call \<xxxxxxxxxxx\>"
"Failing to attend cervical screening could lead to 4500 avoidable deaths in England each year. Your cervical smear test is due. To book please call \<xxxxxxxxxxx\>"
Eligibility Criteria
You may qualify if:
- Women aged 24-64 years being invited for cervical screening during the course of the study. Women included in the study will be registered with a GP Practice that has agreed to participate in the trial.
You may not qualify if:
- Patients who opt-out, Patients who have had a hysterectomy, Patients who have informed GP practices of preference to not be screened, Patients Cervical cancer
Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.
Sponsors & Collaborators
- Sarah Huflead
Study Sites (1)
Department of Surgery and Cancer, St Mary's Campus, Praed Street, Imperial College London
London, W2 1NY, United Kingdom
Related Publications (1)
Huf S, Kerrison RS, King D, Chadborn T, Richmond A, Cunningham D, Friedman E, Shukla H, Tseng FM, Judah G, Darzi A, Vlaev I. Behavioral economics informed message content in text message reminders to improve cervical screening participation: Two pragmatic randomized controlled trials. Prev Med. 2020 Oct;139:106170. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2020.106170. Epub 2020 Jun 29.
PMID: 32610059DERIVED
MeSH Terms
Conditions
Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)
Study Officials
- STUDY DIRECTOR
Deborah Cunningham
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust
Study Design
- Study Type
- interventional
- Phase
- not applicable
- Allocation
- RANDOMIZED
- Masking
- NONE
- Purpose
- SCREENING
- Intervention Model
- SINGLE GROUP
- Sponsor Type
- OTHER
- Responsible Party
- SPONSOR INVESTIGATOR
- PI Title
- Clinical Research Fellow
Study Record Dates
First Submitted
February 9, 2015
First Posted
February 13, 2015
Study Start
February 1, 2015
Primary Completion
February 1, 2016
Study Completion
February 1, 2016
Last Updated
October 25, 2018
Record last verified: 2018-10
Data Sharing
- IPD Sharing
- Will not share