None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
This study is examining the use of general practice point-of-care prompts to increase participation in the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP). Who is it for? Tasmanian general practices located in Remoteness Areas 3 and 4 may be eligible to participate and the study will apply to patients turning 50, 60 and 70 during the study timeframe. Study details Five participating general practices will have a prompt added to the electronic files of eligible patients. This message will pop-up when patients attend their consultation, and will prompt general practitioners (GPs) to encourage participation in the NBCSP. Additional resources will also be provided to the GPs in the 5 participating practices. Another 5 general practices will not receive the prompts, and will provide usual care. NBCSP participation rates will then be compared between the two groups of practices The findings from this research may have implications for the NBCSP in terms of engaging GPs in the screening invitation process, increasing participation in the program, and ultimately decreasing mortality from bowel cancer in Tasmania and nationally.
Interventions
Brief intervention name: Point-of-care clinical prompt (Prompt)
Materials and Procedures:
A point-of-care clinical prompt stating “Encourage Participation in National Bowel Cancer Screening Program” will be attached to the electronic files of eligible patients (average risk patients turning 50, 60 and 70 years of age) within a general practice. These patients represent a sample of the population who will receive a National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP) kit during the 12-month trial pe
Brief intervention name: Point-of-care clinical prompt (Prompt) Materials and Procedures: A point-of-care clinical prompt stating “Encourage Participation in National Bowel Cancer Screening Program” will be attached to the electronic files of eligible patients (average risk patients turning 50, 60 and 70 years of age) within a general practice. These patients represent a sample of the population who will receive a National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP) kit during the 12-month trial period. The prompt will remind General Practitioners (GPs) to talk to their patients about using the free kit when it arrives in the mail on or around the time of their birthday. National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP) patient information brochures and posters will be available for general practitioner (GP) use as hard and/or electronic copies. Each GP in the trial will also recieve a sample NBCSP kit to show to patients during the consultation. Mode of delivery: The prompt will be set up by general practice administration staff within the electronic files of eligible patients. The prompt will be delivered to GPs as an electronic pop-up reminder at the start of a consultation. When an eligible patient arrives for their consultation at a practice, the prompt will ‘pop-up’ over the patient’s electronic file. The GP will then decide whether to discuss screening at that point in time or whether to ‘close’ the prompt. If the prompt is closed, it will remain as an outstanding action each time the patient attends the practice until such time as the GP marks the task as ‘performed’ by checking the relevent box. Additional resouces including patient information brochures and a sample/demonstration kit, will be made available by the GP during the consultation. Frequency and duration: The intervention will be trialled over 12 months. It is estimated that a total of 1750 patients will be eligible to have the prompt associated with their electronic file within the five intervention sites. This is the maximum number of times the prompt will be acted on by GPs. Location: The intervention will take place in five Tasmanian general practices located within Outer Regional and Remote Tasmania (Remoteness Areas 3 and 4). Adherence: GP adherence to using the prompt will be determined by the number of prompts that were marked as ‘performed’ compared to the number of prompts that were not.
Sponsors
University of Tasmania
Study design
Allocation
Non-randomised trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Prevention
Masking
Blinded (masking used) (Subject)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
50 Years to 70 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
General Practices: Only general practices located in Remoteness Areas 3 and 4, and identified as not participating in other University of Tasmania research, will be invited to participate. General Practioners: All GPs within a recruited practice will be invited to participate in the study. No exclusion criteria apply. Patients: All active patients of the five intervention practices who turn 50, 60 and 70 during the 12-month intervention will be eligible to receive the prompt. Exceptions to this are patients identified as having a higher than average risk of bowel cancer including patients with a known personal or family history of bowel cancer, or with existing bowel conditions (e.g. inflammatory bowel disease, crohn’s disease). The NPCSP recommends individuals at above-average risk for bowel cancer should discuss screening options with their GP rather than use the free kit.
Exclusion criteria
General Practices located outside Remoteness Areas 3 and 4, and currently participating in or earmarked to particpate in University of Tasmania research will not be invited to participate. Patients outside the specified age groups and at higher than average risk of developing bowel cancer (as defined by the NBCSP) will be excluded from receiving the prompt from their GP.
Outcome results
None listed