Engaging Patients in Colon Cancer Screening Decisions During COVID-19

Not Applicable

Completed

Conditions: Colon Cancer

Interventions: Behavioral: Shared Decision Making

Registration Number: NCT04548531

Lead Sponsor: Massachusetts General Hospital

Brief Summary: The goal of the study is to examine whether a shared decision making intervention improves decision making about colon cancer screening for patients who had their colonoscopy delayed or postponed due to the COVID pandemic. Eligible patients (n=800) will be randomly assigned to either the intervention or control arm. A subset will be surveyed about 6-8 weeks post intervention to measure shared decision making, their intention to follow through with screening, and their decisional conflict. Study staff will conduct medical chart review to track receipt of colon cancer screening within 6 months. The statistician will test whether patients in the intervention arm report more shared decision making, less decisional conflict, higher intention to follow through on screening and have higher screening rates compared to those in the control arm.

Detailed Description: The goal of the study is to examine whether a shared decision making intervention improves decision making about colon cancer screening for patients who had their colonoscopy delayed or postponed due to the COVID pandemic. Eligible patient (n=800) will randomly assigned to either the intervention or control arm. A subset will be surveyed about 6-8 weeks post intervention to determine the extent to which they report shared decision making, their intention to follow through with screening, and their decisional conflict. Study staff will also conduct medical chart review to track receipt of colon cancer screening within 6 months.

Intervention arm: In this arm, patients will get a shared decision making information sheet in the mail that describes three screening options: (1) schedule next available colonoscopy, (2) switch to a stool-based test, and (3) delay colonoscopy for a year. Study staff trained in decision coaching will follow up with patients to help them select an option and support implementation.

Control arm: This arm will be a usual care arm. The gastroenterology department department has schedulers calling patients and texting patients to schedule their procedure.

All 800 patients will be followed for their cancer screening outcomes, and a subset n=460 or 230 in each arm will be randomly selected to receive the survey.

Study staff who prepare the intervention mailing and the surveys will not be blinded to the study arm. The staff who enter the data from the paper surveys and who conduct chart review to collect screening will be blinded to the assignment. The statistician analyzing the results will also be blinded to the assignment.

The following hypotheses will be evaluated using an intention to treat approach, so patients will be analyzed based on their assigned arm.

Hypothesis 1: Compared to the control group, patients in intervention arm will report higher shared decision making (primary outcome).

Hypothesis 2: Compared to the control group, patients in the intervention arm will have (2a) stronger intention to follow through with colon cancer screening (whether colonoscopy, stool-based test or other approach) and (2b) will be more likely to have a screening test within 6 months.

Hypothesis 3: Compared to the control group, patients in the intervention arm will have less decisional conflict (SURE score).

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status: COMPLETED

Sex: All

Target Recruitment: 800

Inclusion Criteria

Adults, age 45-75
Had screening or surveillance colonoscopy delayed or cancelled from March-June 2020

Exclusion Criteria

Diagnostic colonoscopy
High risk for colorectal cancer as indicated by 1 year follow up schedule
Prior history of colon cancer
Unable to read or write in English or Spanish
Have already scheduled or completed a colonoscopy since restrictions were lifted

Study & Design

Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL

Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Shared Decision Making Arm	Shared Decision Making	This is the intervention arm. Patients will receive a shared decision making information sheet in the mail and will be able to receive decision coaching from study staff to support selection of an option if desired.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Shared Decision Making (SDM) Process Scale Score	About 8 weeks after intervention	short patient reported scale asks patients about discussion of options, pros and cons of colonoscopy and discussion of patients' preferences. Total scores range from 0-4 with higher scores indicating higher shared decision making.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
No Decisional Conflict (Number With Score of 4 on SURE Scale)	About 8 weeks after intervention	The 4-item version of the decisional conflict scale, total score ranges from 0-4 and is reported as top score or percentage who score 4 which indicates no decisional conflict.
Patient's Preferred Approach to Screening	About 8 weeks after intervention	One item will assess patients' preferred approach to screening (with responses of colonoscopy, stool card test, no screening, not sure). We report on the percent of patients who had a clear preference for screening with either a stool card test or colonoscopy and those without a clear preference who chose no screening or not sure.
Colon Cancer Screening Rate	6 months after randomization	Percentage of patients who had completed colon cancer screening test
Number Reporting "Very Likely" to Follow Through With Screening	About 8 weeks after intervention	One item will assess patients' intention to follow through with their preferred approach on a 5-point scale from Very Unlikely to Very Likely. We report on the percent of patients who selected "Very Likely" to follow through with screening.