Accepted for/Published in: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Date Submitted: Jan 13, 2022
Date Accepted: Jun 16, 2022
mHealth interventions to improve cancer screening and early detection: A scoping review of reviews
ABSTRACT
Background:
Cancer screening provision in resource-constrained settings tends to be opportunistic and uptake tends to be low leading to delayed presentation, treatment and poor survival.
Objective:
To identify, review, map and summarise findings from systematic, scoping, narrative and rapid reviews on the use of mobile health (mHealth) technologies to improve uptake of cancer screening.
Methods:
The review methodology was guided by the PRISMA extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR). Ovid MEDLINE, PyschInfo and EMBASE were searched from inception to May 2021. Eligible criteria included reviews of any type that included interventions related to cancer screening conducted on mobile devices and/or described the effectiveness and/or implementation of mHealth interventions on outcomes related to cancer screening. Data such as review identifiers, study aims, types of cancer/mHealth and outcomes were extracted and presented descriptively.
Results:
Our initial search identified 1981 titles of which 12 reviews met the inclusion criteria (six systematic reviews, four scoping reviews, one rapid review and one narrative review). Most of the interventions were for breast and cervical cancers. The most common mHealth technologies used to increase cancer screening uptake were text messages and telephone calls. mHealth interventions were effective in increasing knowledge about screening and had high acceptance among participants. However, interventions that included more than one mode of communication (telephone reminders, physical invitation letters, and/or educational pamphlets) together with mHealth were most effective in improving uptake-related outcomes.
Conclusions:
mHealth interventions appear to increase cancer screening uptake. Suggestions for future research are included. Clinical Trial: NA
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