Optimising invitation and advance notification letters to increase bowel cancer screening participation: A qualitative analysis

IF 2.9 2区 医学 Q2 PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH
Katelyn Collins , Michael Ireland , Laura Anderson , Carlene Wilson , Natalie Taylor , Bianca Viljoen , Mark Jenkins , Belinda Goodwin
{"title":"Optimising invitation and advance notification letters to increase bowel cancer screening participation: A qualitative analysis","authors":"Katelyn Collins ,&nbsp;Michael Ireland ,&nbsp;Laura Anderson ,&nbsp;Carlene Wilson ,&nbsp;Natalie Taylor ,&nbsp;Bianca Viljoen ,&nbsp;Mark Jenkins ,&nbsp;Belinda Goodwin","doi":"10.1016/j.pec.2025.108729","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objectives</h3><div>To explore how letters distributed in population bowel cancer screening programmes could be modified to increase bowel cancer screening uptake, from the perspective of screening invitees.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Sixty-three people aged 48–74 years discussed their preferences regarding letter design and content during semi-structured interviews aided by various example letters designed to notify of, or invite participants to, the Australian National Bowel Cancer Screening Programme (NBCSP). Deductive thematic analysis, informed by the Integrated Screening Action Model (I-SAM), was used to interpret participant feedback and provide recommendations for improvements to the letters in alignment with the theoretical stages of bowel cancer screening behaviour (engaging, deciding, and completing the screening kit).</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Participants generally agreed that effective letters should feature a clear, eye-catching design to enhance initial engagement. Messages targeting emotional barriers and content tailored to prior screening history were seen as crucial to drive screening decision-making. Finally, step-by-step instructions, deadlines, and reminders were identified as facilitators of kit completion, bridging the gap between intention and action.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>The findings of this study align with the I-SAM framework for understanding the progression of screening behaviours and highlight key design elements that can enhance the effectiveness of bowel cancer screening invitations. The design and messaging within screening letters has the potential to address common concerns and encourage screening participation.</div></div><div><h3>Practice implications</h3><div>The simplification of letter design, and integration of tailored messaging strategies, simple kit instructions, reminders, and deadlines could boost engagement and help bridge the intention-behaviour gap, driving increased screening participation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49714,"journal":{"name":"Patient Education and Counseling","volume":"135 ","pages":"Article 108729"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9000,"publicationDate":"2025-03-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Patient Education and Counseling","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0738399125000965","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0

Abstract

Objectives

To explore how letters distributed in population bowel cancer screening programmes could be modified to increase bowel cancer screening uptake, from the perspective of screening invitees.

Methods

Sixty-three people aged 48–74 years discussed their preferences regarding letter design and content during semi-structured interviews aided by various example letters designed to notify of, or invite participants to, the Australian National Bowel Cancer Screening Programme (NBCSP). Deductive thematic analysis, informed by the Integrated Screening Action Model (I-SAM), was used to interpret participant feedback and provide recommendations for improvements to the letters in alignment with the theoretical stages of bowel cancer screening behaviour (engaging, deciding, and completing the screening kit).

Results

Participants generally agreed that effective letters should feature a clear, eye-catching design to enhance initial engagement. Messages targeting emotional barriers and content tailored to prior screening history were seen as crucial to drive screening decision-making. Finally, step-by-step instructions, deadlines, and reminders were identified as facilitators of kit completion, bridging the gap between intention and action.

Conclusions

The findings of this study align with the I-SAM framework for understanding the progression of screening behaviours and highlight key design elements that can enhance the effectiveness of bowel cancer screening invitations. The design and messaging within screening letters has the potential to address common concerns and encourage screening participation.

Practice implications

The simplification of letter design, and integration of tailored messaging strategies, simple kit instructions, reminders, and deadlines could boost engagement and help bridge the intention-behaviour gap, driving increased screening participation.
求助全文
约1分钟内获得全文 求助全文
来源期刊
Patient Education and Counseling
Patient Education and Counseling 医学-公共卫生、环境卫生与职业卫生
CiteScore
5.60
自引率
11.40%
发文量
384
审稿时长
46 days
期刊介绍: Patient Education and Counseling is an interdisciplinary, international journal for patient education and health promotion researchers, managers and clinicians. The journal seeks to explore and elucidate the educational, counseling and communication models in health care. Its aim is to provide a forum for fundamental as well as applied research, and to promote the study of organizational issues involved with the delivery of patient education, counseling, health promotion services and training models in improving communication between providers and patients.
×
引用
GB/T 7714-2015
复制
MLA
复制
APA
复制
导出至
BibTeX EndNote RefMan NoteFirst NoteExpress
×
提示
您的信息不完整,为了账户安全,请先补充。
现在去补充
×
提示
您因"违规操作"
具体请查看互助需知
我知道了
×
提示
确定
请完成安全验证×
copy
已复制链接
快去分享给好友吧!
我知道了
右上角分享
点击右上角分享
0
联系我们:info@booksci.cn Book学术提供免费学术资源搜索服务,方便国内外学者检索中英文文献。致力于提供最便捷和优质的服务体验。 Copyright © 2023 布克学术 All rights reserved.
京ICP备2023020795号-1
ghs 京公网安备 11010802042870号
Book学术文献互助
Book学术文献互助群
群 号:481959085
Book学术官方微信