332 Effect of Behavioral Interventions on the Uptake of Screening Colonoscopy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Screening decreases colorectal cancer (CRC) incidence and mortality, but uptake in the United States remains suboptimal at 62%. Prior studies have investigated the effect of various interventions on overall CRC screening and stool-based testing, but the effect on colonoscopy—the predominant screening test in the US—has not been fully examined. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the effect of behavioral interventions on screening colonoscopy uptake. METHODS: We searched PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases through June 2018 for controlled trials that assessed the effect of behavioral interventions on screening colonoscopy rates. Our search yielded a total of 6,952 titles. All abstracts and articles were screened by at least two independent reviewers and 54 manuscripts were selected for review. Relative risk estimates were extracted from the original article or calculated from the raw data. The primary outcome was the relative increase in screening colonoscopy completion with any behavioral intervention. Subgroup analysis by type of intervention was also performed. Random effects meta-analysis was performed using Stata. RESULTS: A total of 21 studies with 24 behavioral interventions were analyzed. The most common interventions were patient navigation (n = 8), a combination of multiple interventions (n = 7), and educational interventions (n = 4). Overall, behavioral interventions increased colonoscopy completion by 58% compared to controls (OR 1.58, 95% CI 1.33-1.88, Figure). Patient navigation (OR 1.80, 95% CI 1.22-2.67) and multiple interventions (OR 1.70, 95% CI 1.15-2.50) had the strongest effect on colonoscopy completion. Significant heterogeneity was observed both overall and by intervention type, which may be attributed to differences in study setting and control group selection. CONCLUSION: Behavioral interventions increase screening colonoscopy completion and should be considered in clinical practice. In particular, patient navigation and multiple interventions are the best-studied and most effective interventions.