Abstract
Objective: For persons needing more detailed examinations based on the results of cancer screening at our center, follow-up management consists of mailing the results sheet to the person together with a referral letter for the detailed examination. To people who have not undergone the detailed examination, we send an encouragement to undergo it by mail, at 2 and 5 months after screening. However, currently, the rate of undergoing detailed examinations with respect to stomach X-ray screening results is lower than for other cancer screening, despite the periodic sending of encouragements. In view of this, for persons requiring more detailed examinations based on stomach X ray screening results, we prepared a pamphlet with messages tailored to individual screening results with the aim of raising the detailed examination rate. In this study, we examined its effectiveness.
Methods: We divided 300 persons requiring detailed examinations into 3 groups - A, B and C. A Group received a doctor’s explanation of the screening results, B Group was sent the pamphlet encouraging the person to have the detailed examination and a referral letter but no doctor’s explanation and C Group was sent a referral letter but no pamphlet or doctor’s explanation. We compared rates of undergoing detailed examinations and the time taken to have the detailed examination among the groups.
Results: Rates for undergoing detailed examinations were: A group 68%, B group 65% and C group 55%. Thus, the pamphlet was similar in effectiveness to a doctor’s explanation as a means of encouraging people to have detailed examinations. In the A group, B group and C group, at least 70% of people underwent detailed examinations within 2 months.
Conclusions: The pamphlet was considered to be an effective tool for raising the rate of undergoing detailed examinations. Also as recommendation of early examination was thought to be a factor in raising the detailed examination rate, the use of a pamphlet encouraging early examination and a thorough doctor’s explanation of the results should further increase the detailed examination rate.
