Impact of an Implementation Intention Planning Guide on Fecal Immunochemical Tests (FIT) Completion Rates
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center
Summary
Fecal immunochemical tests (FIT) are a primary method of screening for colorectal cancer (CRC). Implementation intention planning involves encouraging completion or eliminating barriers for the participant to make a plan to complete a behavior or activity. This randomized control study seeks to answer whether the addition of an implementation intention guide impacts behaviors when completing FIT screening. The primary objective includes determining if the implementation intention guide increases completion rate of screening FIT. The secondary objectives is whether this intervention decreases the lab sample rejection rate and reduces the duration between sample collection and laboratory receipt/evaluation of screening FIT.
Description
Colorectal cancer (CRC) has a high incidence, burden of disease, and significant associated mortality.(1,2) Programs to screen for CRC have leveraged stool testing with the fecal immunochemical test (FIT), a non-invasive at home test with no inherent risks, as the primary method in many countries.(3) Advantages of screening with FIT include considerations of safety, simplicity, and cost. However, while this and other options are available for colorectal cancer screening, patient screening rates have still not achieved recommended 70-80% targets.(4) In order to increase colorectal cancer screen…