This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Direct-mail outreach improved odds for colorectal cancer screenings
Patients enrolled in a colorectal cancer screening direct-mail outreach program underwent testing more frequently than those not in the program in a recent study.
Researchers randomly assigned 202 patients overdue for colorectal cancer screening to receive fecal occult blood testing (FOBT) kits by direct mail (n=104) or to undergo typical care by receiving screening referrals during clinician visits (n=98). All participants were aged between 50 and 80 years and had no prior history of colorectal cancer or total colectomy. Completion rates for screening within 4 months were observed and compared between groups.
Along with the FOBT kit, participants received a letter from their doctor indicating that they were due for examination and recommending FOBT, instructions for using the kit, a fact sheet on colorectal cancer and directions for returning the completed test.
Patients who received FOBT kits underwent colorectal cancer screenings within 4 months significantly more frequently than those who received typical care (31 patients compared with 5; P<.001), and nearly all of these screenings were performed via FOBT (30 in the outreach group and four in the usual-care group). Investigators also found that more outreach patients had undergone screenings 12 months after the initial mailings (38% compared with 15%; P=.002).
The number of patients who visited a clinician during the study period was similar between groups (44% of outreach patients and 49% of usual-care patients; P=.57), as was the number of patients whose physician ordered a screening for them (4% of outreach patients and 5% receiving usual care; P=.74).
“A cost-effective outreach intervention consisting of the direct mailing of FOBT kits to patients overdue for colorectal cancer screening and telephone outreach to initial nonresponders was an effective means to increase patient completion of colorectal cancer screening,” the researchers concluded. “As this outreach strategy overcomes several financial … and nonfinancial barriers … associated with visit-initiated cancer screening, the direct mailing of FOBT kits to patients eligible for colorectal cancer screening may be a particularly desirable approach to improving adherence to colorectal cancer screening guidelines in historically underserved communities.”