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Effectiveness of behavioural economics-based interventions to improve colorectal cancer screening participation: A rapid systematic review of randomised controlled trials

Taylor et al. (2022)

Health Evidence - 10.1016/j.pmedr.2022.101747

Evidence Categories

  • Care setting: Any setting
  • Population group: Any population
  • Intervention: Other
  • Outcome: Screening: Uptake of colorectal cancer screening

Type of Evidence

Rapid Overview

Aims

This study seeks to synthesise data from existing studies to investigate whether interventions using BE [behavioural economics] principles are effective at influencing CRC screening behaviours in individuals eligible for population-based screening.

Findings

Highlights:

  • We searched PubMed, PsycInfo and EconLit for RCTs that evaluated BE interventions in CRC screening.

  • We identified 1027 papers for title and abstract review. 30 studies were eligible for the review.

  • The most frequently tested BE intervention was incentives, followed by default principle and salience.
  • Default-based interventions were most likely to be effective. Incentives had mixed evidence.
  • BE remains a promising field of interest in relation to influencing CRC screening behaviours.

Conclusions

This review shows that the effectiveness of BE interventions to promote CRC screening participation is mixed. The majority of studies have had a positive effect on screening participation, but a considerable proportion have found no effect. Several areas remain in need of future research, including investigation into BE interventions in programmes outside of the USA. Overall, BE remains a promising field of interest in relation to influencing CRC screening behaviours.

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