Evaluating changes to home bowel cancer screening kits: an end-user perspective study

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Gastroenterology
• Medical Device Design

Background:

• Low participation rates in mail-out bowel cancer screening programs are often linked to difficulties with the screening kit.
• Improving the usability of screening kits is crucial for enhancing public health initiatives and early disease detection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate specific modifications to mail-out bowel cancer screening kits to enhance user-friendliness.
• To identify changes that would increase participation in national bowel cancer screening programs.

Main Methods:

• An online survey was conducted with 1,109 participants between April and December 2021.
• Participants evaluated 15 different screening kit modifications, reporting on potential impacts on screening barriers and intentions.
• Data collected included recommendations for implementing modifications into current screening kits.

Main Results:

• A one-sample test modification was favored by 17% of previous non-participants, indicating increased participation intention.
• Highly recommended modifications included barcode labeling, a larger collection tube opening, and highlighting the expiry date.
• Modifications receiving lower support involved reducing packaging size, removing branding, and eliminating the information booklet.

Conclusions:

• The study identifies several actionable modifications to bowel cancer screening kits to improve usability.
• These findings have significant implications for enhancing participation in national screening programs utilizing immunochemical-based kits.
• Optimizing kit design is essential for the success of public health screening initiatives.