A randomized trial comparing the effect of two phone-based interventions on colorectal cancer screening adherence

Background Early-stage diagnosis of colorectal cancer is associated with high survival rates; screening prevalence, however, remains suboptimal. Purpose This study seeks to test the hypothesis that participants receiving telephone-based tailored education or motivational interviewing had higher colorectal cancer screening completion rates compared to usual care. Methods Primary care patients not adherent with colorectal cancer screening and with no personal or family history of cancer (n=515) were assigned by block randomization to control (n=169), tailored education (n=168), or motivational interview (n=178). The response rate was 70%; attrition was 24%. Results Highest screening occurred in the tailored education group (23.8%, p<.02); participants had 2.2 times the odds of completing a post-intervention colorectal cancer screening than did the control group (AOR=2.2, CI=1.2-4.0). Motivational interviewing was not associated with significant increase in post-intervention screening. Conclusions Tailored education showed promise as a feasible strategy to increase colorectal cancer screening.