Effectiveness of Mass and Small Media Campaigns to Improve Cancer Awareness and Screening Rates in Asia: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Background: Cancer presents an increasing burden for Asian countries and cancer-related deaths have been predicted to increase from 4.1 million in 2008 to 7.5 million in 2030 in Asia. Low-middle income countries are recommended to prioritize public education as a first step toward cancer prevention and early detection. Mass media campaigns have been found to be effective in increasing cancer awareness and screening uptake in western countries as well as cost-effective in reducing morbidity and mortality. A number of studies have used mass and or small media components in Asian countries. Aim: This systematic review aims to deliver an overview of small and mass media campaigns in Asia and to assess their effectiveness in improving cancer awareness. Methods: We searched MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, Web of Science, PsycINFO, Scopus, Cochrane Library, Gray literature and Google Scholar for relevant literature. Furthermore, we hand-search reference lists of relevant reviews and studies and run a search in relevant journals individually. Peer-reviewed studies that were published in the English language before September 2017 and targeted adults aged 18 year or over in Asia, were included. We excluded studies targeting minority populations living abroad as well as studies that included individual or group components in addition to the media components. Results: The search identified 10,676 titles after removal of duplicates. A total of 479 titles were included in the abstract screen and 51 articles were included in the full-text screen. The full-text screen is currently ongoing and the results will be presented at the conference. Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the first systematic review summarizing the effectiveness of media campaigns to improve cancer awareness in Asia. The full results of the systematic review will be valuable to inform future mass and small media campaigns in Asian countries.