(HealthDay News) — Tailored interventions delivered remotely may increase cancer screenings in rural patients, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open.
Researchers compared the effectiveness of a mailed, tailored digital video disc (DVD) intervention, a DVD intervention plus telephonic patient navigation (DVD/PN), and usual care for increasing adherence to any breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening. The analysis included 963 women (aged 50 to 74 years) living in rural areas who were not current on screenings.
The researchers found that patients in the DVD group were nearly twice as likely as the usual-care group to obtain all needed screenings (odds ratio [OR], 1.84; 95% CI, 1.02-3.43; P =.048). Patients in the DVD/PN group were nearly 6 times more likely than the usual-care group to obtain all needed screenings (OR, 5.69; 95% CI, 3.24-10.50; P <.001).
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In an adjusted analysis, the DVD/PN intervention was significantly more effective than usual care for promoting up-to-date screening for any of the 3 cancers at 12 months (OR, 4.01; 95% CI, 2.60-6.28; P <.001). The DVD/PN intervention was also more effective than the DVD alone (OR, 2.98; 95% CI, 2.09-4.18; P < .001).
The cost-effectiveness of these interventions, per patient who was current on screening, was $14,462 in the DVD group and $10,638 in the DVD/PN group.
“The effectiveness of these interventions that targeted all or any needed cancer screenings simultaneously offered an approach that can be delivered remotely to rural women and has paved the way to approach preventive health care holistically,” the researchers wrote.
