Institutional development · Research, innovation and assessment · United Kingdom
Surrey-led trial: text prompts tripled bowel screening among London non-responders
A randomised trial led by the University of Surrey, with UCL and Queen Mary University of London, found automated SMS prompts lifted bowel screening completion among people who ignored their first invitation.
Why it matters: London bowel screening services gain trial evidence costing SMS prompts at £1.82 for each extra person who completes a test.
The University of Surrey said its researchers, alongside colleagues at University College London and Queen Mary University of London, trialled two follow-up methods, automated SMS prompts and tailored phone help, among over 3,000 residents of eight London boroughs.
According to the university, each method roughly tripled the share completing screening among those who had ignored their first invitation, relative to no follow-up, with SMS prompts costing £1.82 for each extra person screened.
The university reported that automated messages sent at weeks 19, 21, 23 and 25 raised completion from 2.0% to 6.5% in people who had not responded at first.
The university put London's bowel screening uptake at 63.8%, eight points short of the national figure, and said extending the SMS approach city-wide would mean roughly 18,000 more people screened.
Editor’s view
Scott James, Research and Innovation Editor
The group studied is London residents who leave bowel screening kits uncompleted after a first invitation; if SMS prompts were extended across the capital, the researchers estimate roughly 18,000 extra people would be screened.
