Behaviorally Informed Text Messaging to Promote Colon Cancer Screening

Is a behavioral economics–informed, automated text messaging strategy associated with improved colorectal cancer screening uptake compared with usual nurse-led telephone call outreach in a safety-net population?In this quality improvement randomized clinical trial of 1275 adults with new fecal immunochemical test (FIT) orders, 58.9% of participants in the text message group completed screening within 21 days compared with 49.2% in the telephone call group, a statistically significant difference.These findings suggest that automated, behaviorally informed text messages were associated with significantly improved FIT completion compared with nurse-led telephone outreach and may provide a scalable, low-cost strategy to promote preventive care in underserved populations.

Corresponding Author: Leora I. Horwitz, MD, MHS, Division of Healthcare Delivery Science, Department of Population Health, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, 227 E 30th St, New York, NY 10016 (leora.horwitz@nyulangone.org).

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