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Text-message reminders increase uptake of routine breast screening appointments : a randomised controlled trial in a hard-to-reach population
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Kerrison, R S, Shukla, H, Cunningham, David, Oyebode, Oyinlola and Friedman, E (2015) Text-message reminders increase uptake of routine breast screening appointments : a randomised controlled trial in a hard-to-reach population. British Journal of Cancer, 112 (6). pp. 1005-1010. doi:10.1038/bjc.2015.36 ISSN 0007-0920.
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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/bjc.2015.36
Abstract
Background:
There is a need for interventions to promote uptake of breast screening throughout Europe.
Methods:
We performed a single-blind randomised controlled trial to test whether text-message reminders were effective. Two thousand two hundred and forty women receiving their first breast screening invitation were included in the study and randomly assigned in a 1 : 1 ratio to receive either a normal invitation only (n=1118) or a normal invitation plus a text-message reminder 48 h before their appointment (n=1122).
Findings:
In the intention-to-treat analysis, uptake of breast screening was 59.1% among women in the normal invitation group and 64.4% in the text-message reminder group (χ2=6.47, odds ratio (OR): 1.26, 95% confidence intervals (CI): 1.05–1.48, P=0.01). Of the 1122 women assigned to the text-message reminder group, only 456 (41%) had a mobile number recorded by their GP and were thereby sent a text. In the per-protocol analysis, uptake by those in the control group who had a mobile number recorded on the GP system was 59.77% and by those in the intervention group who were sent a reminder 71.7% (χ2=14.12, OR=1.71, 95% CI=1.29–2.26, P<0.01).
Interpretation:
Sending women a text-message reminder before their first routine breast screening appointment significantly increased attendance. This information can be used to allocate resources efficiently to improve uptake without exacerbating social inequalities.
Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||||||||
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Subjects: | R Medicine > RC Internal medicine > RC0254 Neoplasms. Tumors. Oncology (including Cancer) | ||||||||||
Divisions: | Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Medicine > Warwick Medical School > Health Sciences Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Medicine > Warwick Medical School > Health Sciences > Population, Evidence & Technologies (PET) Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Medicine > Warwick Medical School |
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Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Breast -- Cancer -- Prevention, Medical screening, Text messages (Cell phone systems) -- Health apsects, Women -- Medical examinations, Breast -- Radiography, Tumors | ||||||||||
Journal or Publication Title: | British Journal of Cancer | ||||||||||
Publisher: | Nature Publishing Group | ||||||||||
ISSN: | 0007-0920 | ||||||||||
Official Date: | 17 March 2015 | ||||||||||
Dates: |
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Volume: | 112 | ||||||||||
Number: | 6 | ||||||||||
Page Range: | pp. 1005-1010 | ||||||||||
DOI: | 10.1038/bjc.2015.36 | ||||||||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||||||||
Publication Status: | Published | ||||||||||
Access rights to Published version: | Open Access (Creative Commons) | ||||||||||
Funder: | Imperial College Healthcare Charity |
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