A Cochrane review [Abstract] 1 included 14 studies. The evidence favoured five active strategies for inviting women into community breast cancer screening services: letter of invitation (OR 1.66, 95% CI 1.43 to 1.92), mailed educational material (OR 2.81, 95% CI 1.96 to 4.02), letter of invitation plus phone call (OR 2.53, 95% CI 2.02 to 3.18), phone call (OR 1.94, 95% CI 1.70 to 2.23), and training activities plus direct remainders for the women (OR 1.06, 95% CI 0.80 to 1.40).
Another Cochrane review [Abstract] 2 assessed the effect of automated telephone communication systems (ATCS) on screening of breast and colorectal cancer. Multimodal ATCS, where the calls are delivered as part of a multicomponent intervention increased uptake of screening for breast cancer (RR 2.17, 95% CI 1.55 to 3.04; 2 studies, n=462; high certainty) versus usual care.
A review 3 included 18 RCTs. A positive impact of a letter compared to no letter or usual practice on screening participation was observed. This was consistent for breast cancer and cervical screening participation but inconsistent for colorectal cancer screening participation.
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