Study Design: Cluster Randomized GP feasibility Trial
Disease Area: Cancer / Early Diagnosis
Funder: Yorkshire Cancer Research
Sponsor: University of Hull
Chief Investigator: Dr Charlotte Kelly
Evaluating the effectiveness and acceptability of free door to door transport to increase the uptake of breast screening appointments in Yorkshire:
A cluster randomized GP feasibility trial (DOORSTEP)
Summary
Breast cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in Yorkshire, causing more than 800 deaths per year in the region. Breast screening is one of the key tools to help diagnose breast cancer at an early stage and improve survival rates. Across Yorkshire, in the three years up to 2019/20 an average of 28.6% of invited women had not attended their appointment. Among the non-attenders, a major reason was the difficulty in travelling to the appointment.
This study will assess whether offering free, bookable, door-to-door transport to and from breast cancer screening appointments could increase the number of women attending screening.
What we plan to do
We will compare two groups. Women registered at GPs in group one will receive information about booking free transport alongside their breast
screening invitation. Women registered at GPs in group two will receive the breast screening invitation as normal with no additional offer of transport. Permission to use data collected by the Breast Screening Service on women invited for a breast screening appointment will be obtained.
We expect that providing free transport will increase the overall screening rates, resulting in earlier breast cancer diagnosis and improved survival rates. The findings from this study will inform a larger study.
Blog
Hull York Medical School, University of Hull
Dr Charlotte Kelly - Chief Investigator
Dr Mahboobeh Haji-Sadeghi Trial Manager - Hull Health Trials Unit
Prof Judith Cohen Director - Hull Health Trials Unit
Dr Chao Huang Statistician - Hull Health Trials Unit
Beccy Acaster Data Manager - Hull Health Trials Unit
John Turgoose Information Systems Manager - Hull Health Trials Unit
Jackie Newman Trial Administrator
Prof Una Macleod Clinical Specialist - Dean of Hull York Medical School
Dr Olufikayo Bamidele Qualitative Specialist
Helen Roberts Patient Public Involvement Coordinator
Academic Unit of Health Economics (AUHE), University of Leeds
Bryony Dawkins Health Economist
Judy Wright Information Specialist
Wessam Abass Health Economist
Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Lesley Peacock Breast Screening Manager
Email Address
DOORSTEP@hyms.ac.uk
Patient Public Involvement Approach
We are committed to involving patients, carers, families and local communities as active partners in shaping our research. We want to make sure that people with many different perspectives and experiences have the chance to influence what we do and how we do it. This helps us to focus on what really matters to people.
We have set up a Public Advisory Group made up of 3 women of breast screening age which will meet at regular points throughout the trial. The group will help us to develop the travel survey and ensure that the information provided to women about the transport offer, and information for women who take part in the interviews, is written in Plain English. We will discuss accessing NHS breast screening data with the group, and the cost effectiveness evaluation. We will share our initial findings with them for sense checking, and seek their help and advice to disseminate our findings to public audiences. We will involve them in evaluating the trial and helping to plan the next stage of the research. We have also recruited one woman of breast screening age to join the Trial Management Group, and two women to sit on the Trial Steering Committee.
Watch this space.
Collaborators
