Posting bowel cancer screening kits directly to people who are eligible for BowelScreen, the national bowel screening programme, has been shown to increase their screening uptake by 6%.
The study from RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, supported by the HSE’s National Screening Service (NSS) BowelScreen programme and funded by the Irish Cancer Society, offers a strategy to enhance prevention and early detection efforts for one of Ireland’s most common cancers.
In Ireland, bowel cancer is the second and third most common cancer among men and women respectively, with around 2,500 new cases each year. Screening can help prevent bowel cancer and detect it before the cancer progresses to later stages when treatment is not as effective. Despite the proven benefits of screening, Ireland’s screening uptake is approximately 10% below comparable bowel screening programmes in Europe.
The BowelScreen approach requires first-time invitees to request a home screening kit on receipt of their invitation to take part – an important step to confirm consent to take part in screening and personal details and reduce potentially costly kit wastage, but a step that may deter participation. In response, the study, led by Dr Nicholas Clarke at RCSI’s School of Population Health, tested two interventions to encourage more people to take part.
Rather than waiting for people to request a kit, the study sent kits automatically to those who had not responded to the initial invitation letter. This intervention alone resulted in a 6% increase in participation rates.
Additionally, the study introduced a more personal reminder letter co-written by the study’s Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) panel. This revised version of the letter addressed common concerns about the screening process identified from previous research conducted by Dr Clarke and incorporated personal insights from the panel aiming to reduce hesitation and improve response rates. Findings indicated that this intervention had the most impact on women from lower socio-economic areas when sent alongside the screening test kit.
The study highlights the need to remove barriers to bowel cancer screening, particularly among men and those in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas, where participation remains lowest. Participation in screening can reduce risk of a cancer diagnosis and even prevent it by detecting polyps that could progress into cancer if left unchecked.
The HSE’s BowelScreen programme offers a two-yearly bowel cancer screening for people between the ages of 59 and 70. Visit hse.ie/bowelscreen to register for your screening today. Read more about the symptoms, risks and what you can do to help prevent bowel cancer developing on hse.ie and in the Irish Cancer Society’s bowel cancer information leaflet.
This work is supported by Irish Cancer Society and the National Screening Service through the Research Grant SCR20CLA and supported in part by Grants from the Health Research Board and Research Ireland.
