Text Messaging to Improve Adherence To Repeat Colonoscopy In a Veterans Affairs (VA) Hospital

Text Messaging to Improve Adherence To Repeat Colonoscopy In The VA: A Pilot Study

Colorectal cancer is a common but preventable condition, and increasing colorectal cancer screening is one of the most impactful public health contributions in the field of gastroenterology. Text messaging is a simple, cheap, and rapid method to reach patients that may improve adherence to colonoscopy appointments as well as simplify the process of bowel preparation. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the feasibility of a pilot bidirectional text messaging intervention on attendance for screening/surveillance colonoscopy and bowel preparation quality at an urban VA hospital. The goal is to improve adherence to colonoscopy among patients who are due for a repeat colonoscopy.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Colorectal Cancer
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Text Message Instructions/Motivation

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 50
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • New York
    • New York, New York, United States, 10010
      • New York Harbor Health Care System - Department of Veterans Affairs

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Has previously undergone a colonoscopy and is currently due for a repeat screening or surveillance colonoscopy at the VA.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients not due for screening or surveillance colonoscopy. This will be based on 2020 guidelines from the U.S. Multi-Society Task Force on Colorectal Cancer.
• Patients with personal history of colorectal cancer (CRC)/inflammatory bowel disease/ hereditary colon cancer syndrome or family history of hereditary colon cancer syndrome. These criteria will be determined based on ICD9/10 codes or the medical record.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Screening
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Text Message Intervention; Participants in the experimental arm will receive a series of instructional and motivational text messages, which will be sent starting 7-14 days before and until the day of the colonoscopy procedure.	Behavioral: Text Message Instructions/Motivation; For instructional messages, earlier messages will remind patients of the colonoscopy appointment and later messages will help patients complete the bowel preparation process in real-time. Motivational messages will be sent along with instructional messages.
No Intervention: No Intervention; Participants will not receive text messages.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
National Annie Colonoscopy Survey Score	7-item assessment of participant satisfaction with the "Annie" text intervention. Items are rated on a 5-point scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The total score is the sum of responses and ranges from 7 to 35; higher scores indicate greater satisfaction with the intervention.	Day 21 (Up to 7 Days Post-Procedure)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Percentage of Participants Who Attend Scheduled Colonoscopy Appointment	Assessed via patient's electronic health record.	Up to Day 14
Percentage of Participants Who Had Adequate Bowel Preparation at Colonoscopy Appointment	Assessed via patient's electronic health record.	Up to Day 14

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: NYU Langone Health
• Collaborators: National Cancer Institute (NCI)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Peter Liang, MD, NYU Langone Health

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): February 27, 2024
• Primary Completion (Actual): August 15, 2024
• Study Completion (Actual): August 15, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 15, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 15, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): December 29, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): August 20, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 1, 2025
• Last Verified: August 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Neoplasms by Site; Neoplasms; Intestinal Diseases; Gastrointestinal Neoplasms; Digestive System Neoplasms; Digestive System Diseases; Gastrointestinal Diseases; Intestinal Neoplasms; Rectal Diseases; Colonic Diseases; Colorectal Neoplasms
• Other Study ID Numbers: 23-00583

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: The de-identified participant data from the final research dataset used in the published manuscript will be shared upon reasonable request beginning 9 months and ending 36 months following article publication or as required by a condition of awards and agreements supporting the research provided the investigator who proposes to use the data executes a data use agreement with NYU Langone Health. Requests may be directed to: peter.liang@nyulangone.org. The protocol and statistical analysis plan will be made available on Clinicaltrials.gov only as required by federal regulation or as a condition of awards and agreements supporting the research.
• IPD Sharing Time Frame: Beginning 9 months and ending 36 months following article publication or as required by a condition of awards and agreements supporting the research.
• IPD Sharing Access Criteria: The investigator who proposed to use the data will be granted access upon reasonable request. Requests should be directed to peter.liang@nyulangone.org. To gain access, data requestors will need to sign a data access agreement.
• IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type: STUDY_PROTOCOL; SAP

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No