Patient Navigation to Improve Colonoscopy Completion Following an Abnormal Stool-test Result, A Randomized Controlled Trial
Abstract
Background Patient navigation is a recommended practice of the Community Guide for Preventive Services; little is known about whether patient navigation improves colonoscopy completion for adults who have received an abnormal stool test result. Objective To determine whether patient navigation delivered to individuals with an abnormal stool test result increased follow-up colonoscopy completion (primary) at 1 year. Design Randomized controlled trial. Setting A federally qualified health center (n = 32 clinics) in Washington State. Patients Individuals aged 50-75 with an abnormal fecal test result in the prior month. Interventions A six-topic, phone-based patient navigation program delivered by bilingual (English and Spanish) clinical staff. Measurements Receipt of follow-up colonoscopy at 1 year (primary); time to colonoscopy receipt; and program effectiveness by patient characteristics, including patients’ probability of obtaining a colonoscopy without navigation, derived using health record data (secondary). Results Of 985 individuals enrolled (mean age, 61 [SD, 6.8] years; 170 [18%] had Spanish language preference listed in the medical record), 967 were included in the primary intention-to-treat analysis (479 in patient navigation; 488 in usual care). Receipt of follow-up colonoscopy was higher in the patient navigation group than in the usual care group (55.1% vs 42.1%; risk difference, 13.0 percentage points; 95% CI, 6.5 to 19.4 percentage points). The intervention…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a randomized trial, done in people. Its evidence level is 2 of 5 (High · randomized trial). Randomized trials of a reasonable size are the strongest single-study design. Reported size: 985 participants or records.
Read the paper
Related studies
- Improving the translation of search strategies using the Polyglot Search Translator: a randomized controlled trial
- Nutritional, Physical, Cognitive, and Combination Interventions and Frailty Reversal Among Older Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial
- Clinical characteristics and risk factors associated with COVID-19 severity in patients with haematological malignancies in Italy: a retrospective, multicentre, cohort study
- A randomized, controlled trial of oral propranolol in infantile hemangioma
- Clinical phenotypes of delirium during critical illness and severity of subsequent long-term cognitive impairment: a prospective cohort study
- Increased physical activity improves sleep and mood outcomes in inactive people with insomnia: a randomized controlled trial
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.