Randomized Controlled Trial on Colorectal Cancer Screening Among Quality Circles of Primary Care Physicians

February 24, 2026 updated by: University of Bern

Colorectal Cancer Testing in Swiss Primary Care: A Pilot Pragmatic Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial in Quality Circles of Physicians

In Switzerland, colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cause of death from cancer with 1600 persons dying from CRC each year. CRC screening can prevent most of these deaths. If screening begins at age 50, with either colonoscopy or faecal immunological test (FIT), the absolute risk of dying from CRC at age 80 can be cut in half. The choice between CRC screening methods can be seen as preference-sensitive condition. FIT can detect CRC at a similar rate as colonoscopy, but cannot detect as many polyps and advanced polyps as colonoscopies. Colonoscopy would seem the best choice for patients who want to reduce their risk of developing CRC or dying from CRC, but colonoscopy is an invasive procedure with rare but serious adverse effects. Patients who choose FIT do not need to prepare their bowels, or take a day off, but instead sample their own stool at home and mail the test to the laboratory. Offering the choice of test might also increase overall screening rates. Guidelines from the US Services Task Force (USPSTF) suggest shared decision making as a method for increasing adherence to screening and elicit patients' preferences for screening options.

Family physicians are recognized as the most trusted professional to discuss CRC screening in Switzerland. However, many primary care physicians (PCPs) appear to prefer colonoscopy over FIT, and the preferred method seems to vary widely between regions. Physician preferences and local medical culture likely determine these choices more than patient preference. It may be possible to reduce the number of PCPs who prescribe only one screening method by encouraging them to diagnose their patient's preferences for screening method. In Switzerland, training PCPs with educational support and decision aids increased the number who intend to prescribe both screening modalities in equal proportions (prescription of both colonoscopy and FIT in equal proportions).

To implement the intervention and determine how and if it changes PCP practice over time, the study will be conducted in quality circles (QCs) of PCPs. QCs are usually groups of 6 to 12 PCPs who meet regularly to reflect on their practice. QCs are a multifaceted, step-based intervention for quality improvement that has gained international traction because they can foster long-lasting behaviour change. In Switzerland, 80% of all PCPs attend QC regularly. Through QCs following the principles of Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) quality improvement cycles, PCPs can find ways to lower structural barriers to screening, assess their screening practices, and give each other feedback.

The study hypothesizes that providing PCPs with evidence summaries on CRC screening, decision aids for patients, and sample FIT tests will increase the number of patients screened for CRC, better balance the selection of screening methods (colonoscopy vs. FIT), increase the proportion of patients with whom PCPs discuss CRC testing, and increase the number of patients who make decision for or against CRC screening.

The outcomes in PCPs of QCs allocated to the intervention group will be compared to those in the control group. The outcomes will be measured through anonymous structured patient data collected on 40 consecutive patients by PCPs and questionnaires filled by PCPs.

To ensure that relevant outcomes important for future implementation and dissemination works are collected, the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation and Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework will be followed for structuring the data collection. The RE-AIM framework helps structure the collection of data on the characteristics of the participants invited who finally participate in the study (Reach), on the integration of the planned intervention in their work (Adoption), on the consistency of implementation of the planned intervention by study participants (Implementation), on the maintenance of the intervention effects over time (Maintenance), and finally, on the effectiveness of the intervention on the planned outcomes (Effectiveness). The RE-AIM criteria are useful for identifying the translatability and public health impact of this intervention, and for making clear to future stakeholders the internal and external validity of study results.

This study will test the benefits of a multilevel training program in participatory medicine designed to help PCPs in Switzerland to better diagnose patient preferences for screening and method of screening method (colonoscopy or FIT) through. If the program is successful it will increase the proportion of patients who can decide to undergo testing or not and with which method. This should increase in number of patients who are screened or intend to be screened for CRC, and thus reduce CRC deaths in the longer term.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

44

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Switzerland
      • Bern, Switzerland, 3012
        • Institute of Primary Health Care (BIHAM), University of Bern

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

50 years to 75 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Physician-level: PCPs of different regions in Switzerland participating in Quality Circles comprising 4 to 19 PCPs and willing to participate in the study
  • Patient-level: Three Repeated measures over three years on 40 consecutive patients aged 50 to 75 years old seen in PCP offices over a 2 weeks to 2 months period. Patients will be included if there is a face-to-face consultation billed for at least 5 minutes at the practice.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • None except criteria which do not respect inclusion criteria.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Intervention group
Other: Multilevel training intervention (intervention group)
QC meetings with PCPs in the intervention group to reflect on their CRC screening practices and implement changes in sequential Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) quality improvement cycles. In the first meeting, they will be given evidence summaries on CRC screening, a decision support leaflet designed to help them discuss CRC screening with their patients and a patient decision aid in form of a brochure (Plan-Do). PCPs will receive sample FIT kits recommended for organized screening programs and will be encouraged to offer FIT tests if they have not done so before. In the second QC meeting, PCPs will be shown how to fill out the patient data collection form (Check). The third QC meeting will take place after data collection and analysis. Researchers will present their results to the QCs and PCPs will discuss subsequent steps to improve care (Act). The QC will then repeat one PDCA cycle. The control group will receive the same intervention one year later.
Other: Control group with crossover
Participants in the control group will receive the intervention after 12 months, cross-over design
Other: Multilevel training intervention (control group with crossover)
The control group will undergo a crossover and receive the same intervention one year after the intervention group. QC meetings with PCPs in the intervention group to reflect on their CRC screening practices and implement changes in sequential Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) quality improvement cycles. In the first meeting, they will be given evidence summaries on CRC screening, a decision support leaflet designed to help them discuss CRC screening with their patients and a patient decision aid in form of a brochure (Plan-Do). PCPs will receive sample FIT kits recommended for organized screening programs and will be encouraged to offer FIT tests if they have not done so before. In the second QC meeting, PCPs will be shown how to fill out the patient data collection form (Check). The third QC meeting will take place after data collection and analysis. Researchers will present their results to the QCs and PCPs will discuss subsequent steps to improve care (Act).

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Proportion of patients which have been tested for CRC
Time Frame: At 16 months after study begin
PCPs will systematically collect data from 40 consecutive patients, aged 50 to 75 years
At 16 months after study begin

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Rate at which PCPs discuss CRC screening with eligible patients (patients not tested in recommended intervals, with no contra-indication for screening)
Time Frame: At 16 months after study begin
PCPs will systematically collect data from 40 consecutive patients, aged 50 to 75 years
At 16 months after study begin
Proportion of patients who were previously tested, plan to be tested or refuse tests
Time Frame: At 16 months after study begin
PCPs will systematically collect data from 40 consecutive patients, aged 50 to 75 years
At 16 months after study begin
Compare proportion of patients who were screened or plan to be screened with colonoscopy vs. FIT
Time Frame: At 16 months after study begin
PCPs will systematically collect data from 40 consecutive patients, aged 50 to 75 years
At 16 months after study begin
Intentions to prescribe tests to screen for CRC
Time Frame: At 16 months after study begin
A questionnaire filled by each participating PCP
At 16 months after study begin
Intention to prescribe colonoscopy vs. FIT within the next 6 months
Time Frame: At 16 months after study begin
Through a questionnaire filled by each participating PCP
At 16 months after study begin

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of Bern

Collaborators

Swiss National Science Foundation

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Reto Auer, MD, MAS, Institute of Primary Health Care of Bern (BIHAM), University of Bern

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

March 14, 2018

Primary Completion (Actual)

January 30, 2021

Study Completion (Actual)

April 30, 2021

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

April 15, 2018

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 26, 2018

First Posted (Actual)

April 27, 2018

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

February 27, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 24, 2026

Last Verified

February 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • RCTQC2018

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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