What do patients and doctors think about alternative bowel screening strategies for people needing colonoscopy?
Investigating patients’ and doctors’ acceptability of and attitudes toward faecal and blood-based tests to triage those requiring regular colonoscopic surveillance and those with gastrointestinal symptoms to colonoscopy
Flinders University of South Australia
2,400 participants
Feb 27, 2023
Observational
Conditions
Summary
The primary purpose of this study is to determine the acceptability of different bowel testing methods including but not limited to faecal tests, blood tests, and colonoscopy. Who is it for? Participants in this study include adults who are undergoing colonoscopy at Flinders Medical Centre, Noarlunga Health Service, Tennyson Centre Day Hospital, or the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in response to gastrointestinal symptoms or for CRC surveillance. It will also include currently registered medical doctors practising in Australia as surgeons, gastroenterologists, and/or general practitioners who are involved in the clinical care of people undergoing colonoscopy. Study details: Eligible participants scheduled to undergo colonoscopy will be sent a letter inviting them to complete a survey 2-4 weeks prior to their colonoscopy. All study invitees who complete this initial survey will be sent a letter one month after their colonoscopy inviting them to complete a follow-up survey. Surveys will contain questions about their testing experiences and knowledge, health beliefs, health literacy, health-related quality of life, and fear of bowel cancer. Clinicians will also be invited into the study through a direct approach or self-selection via advertisements where they will be asked to complete a single survey at their earliest convenience. The clinician survey will contain questions about their familiarity with and previous use of bowel testing methods, perceived effectiveness of bowel testing methods, perceived barriers to bowel screening test use, and preferences for bowel screening test attributes. It is hoped that the outcomes of this research will establish the level of knowledge, trust, and acceptability of colonoscopy consumers and clinicians to different bowel screening strategies. This study will obtain evidence highlighting the benefits and/or perceived barriers towards adopting a simple faecal and/or blood-based test to better determine risk of significant gastrointestinal disease. Adoption of an effective and acceptable biomarker screening test would then lead to better management of colonoscopy resources and reduced costs to the healthcare system through improved colonoscopy triaging and overall reductions in the overall number of colonoscopies performed.
Eligibility
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Interventions
This study will use surveys to determine the acceptability of faecal and blood-based bowel screening strategies for triaging individuals with a higher than average risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) to colonoscopy. This will include individuals requiring colonoscopy in response to abnormal gastrointestinal symptoms, a significant family history of CRC, and/or a previous finding of polyps. Individuals invited into the study will be patients who are scheduled to undergo a colonoscopy due to one of these risk factors, and clinicians who are involved in the care of people undergoing colonoscopy. Individuals who are scheduled to undergo a colonoscopy for gastrointestinal symptoms or CRC surveillance at one of the approved study sites (Flinders Medical Centre, Noarlunga Health Service, Tennyson Centre Day Hospital, Queen Elizabeth Hospital) will be identified via clinic and colonoscopy booking lists for invitation into the study. A letter will be sent to eligible participants approximately 2-4 weeks prior to their scheduled colonoscopy to invite them to complete a survey before their procedure. All respondents to this initial survey will be invited to complete a follow-up survey approximately one month after their colonoscopy. Participants will have the option to complete the surveys online (via a link or by scanning a QR code) or through a paper copy sent to them along with a reply-paid envelope. Each survey will take approximately 20-30 minutes to complete and will measure the acceptability of different bowel screening methods along with the following variables: previous clinical testing experiences and knowledge, health beliefs, health literacy, health-related quality of life, and fear of bowel cancer. Clinicians will be invited to complete a single online survey at their earliest convenience through direct communication (email, letter, verbal) or self-selection via advertisements in newsletters. The survey will be accessed using a website link or by scanning a QR code and will take clinicians approximately 20 minutes to complete. Survey content will measure the acceptability of different bowel testing methods along with the following variables: familiarity with and previous use of bowel testing methods, perceived effectiveness of bowel testing methods, perceived barriers to bowel screening test use, and preferences for bowel screening test attributes.
Locations(4)
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ACTRN12623000146695