Impact of a Doctor's Invitation on Participation in XXXX : A Cluster Randomized Trial.

@entity1 @entity14
BACKGROUND: There is a need to improve participation in @entity14 screening. Our objective was to assess the impact of a signature from the @entity1 's general practitioner on a letter inviting @entity1 to participate in a @entity14 screening. METHOD: We conducted a cluster randomized controlled trial with 57 general practitioners established in Paris for more than 5 years, randomized to intervention or usual-care arms. There were 3422 @entity1 included, ages 50-74 years, from general practitioner @entity1 files, and eligible for an invitation letter or a reminder letter to participate in the national population-based screening program. In the intervention arm, @entity1 received a standard letter signed by their general practitioner inviting them to visit the general practitioner's office for a fecal occult blood test if they were eligible. Control @entity1 received the standard invitation letter or the standard reminder. All letters were sent by the district screening organization. The main outcome was the proportion of @entity1 who took the fecal occult blood test within 6 months after the invitation. RESULTS: Among @entity1 eligible for the study, 508 (14.8%) took a fecal occult blood test after being invited; 285 (15%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 13.5-16.7) in the intervention group and 223 (14.6%; 95% CI, 12.9-16.5) in the control group, with no statistical difference between the 2 groups (odds ratio 1.04; 95% CI, 0.83-1.31; P  = .731). CONCLUSIONS: The addition of a general practitioner's signature to a standard letter inviting @entity1 to take a fecal occult blood test had no impact on the frequency of @entity1 taking the fecal occult blood test in the Paris program of @entity14 screening.
