Whatsapp Based Patient Education to Improve Bowel Preparation for Colonoscopy

February 15, 2026 updated by: Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Centre

Examining the Efficacy of WhatsApp-Based Patient Education in Enhancing Bowel Preparation for Colonoscopy: A Randomized Controlled Trial

This randomized control trial evaluated data with WhatsApp based patient education, improves bowel preparation quality compared with standard in person counseling among patients undergoing elective colonoscopy.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

This randomized control trial assists the effectiveness of whatsapp based education in improving or enhancing bowel preparation prior to colonoscopy. Adults' patients scheduled for elective colonoscopy were randomized into 2 groups. The Interventional group receives structured bowel preparation instructions through WhatsApp in the form of short video in reminders. While the control group received routine in person verbal counseling. The primary outcome was bowel preparation quality, measured using the Boston bowel preparation scale at the time of colonoscopy. Secondary outcomes include patient satisfaction compliance with the bowel preparation instructions and reduction in procedure related anxiety.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

110

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

  • Pakistan
    • KPK
      • Peshawar, KPK, Pakistan, 25100
        • Shaukat Khanam Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Centre Peshawar

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Adults age more than 18 years
  • Scheduled for elective colonoscopy
  • Ability to use WhatsApp
  • Can provide informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Emergency colonoscopy
  • Unable to provide informed consent
  • Inability to use smartphone applications

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: Health Services Research
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Whatsapp education group
Participants receive structured bowel preparation education through WhatsApp in the form of video messages and reminders.
Behavioral: Standard bowel preparation instructions
Participants will receive structured bowel preparation instructions delivered via WhatsApp, including text messages, educational videos, and reminder messages for 3 days prior to colonoscopy, with opportunity for real-time question and answer support.
Other: Standard counseling group/ Control group
Control group: Participants received Routinely in person verbal counseling regarding the bowel preparation as per standard institutional Practices.
Other: Standard bowel preparation instructions
Participants will receive routine written and verbal bowel preparation instructions as per institutional protocol
Drug: Polyethylene glycol with senna
All participants will receive bowel preparation using polyethylene glycol solution combined with senna tablets as per institutional protocol prior to colonoscopy.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Quality of bowel preparation assessed using Boston Bowel Preparation Scale
Time Frame: At time of colonoscopy procedure (Day 0)
The quality of bowel preparation will be assessed during colonoscopy using the Boston Bowel Preparation Scale (BBPS), which scores bowel cleanliness from 0 to 9.
At time of colonoscopy procedure (Day 0)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Adherence to bowel preparation instructions assessed using self-reported adherence questionnaire
Time Frame: On day of colonoscopy before procedure (Day 0)
Patient adherence to bowel preparation instructions will be assessed using a custom self-reported questionnaire evaluating compliance with dietary restrictions, laxative use, and hydration.
On day of colonoscopy before procedure (Day 0)

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Patient satisfaction assessed using Likert-scale questionnaire
Time Frame: On day of colonoscopy before procedure (Day 0)
Patient satisfaction with the educational method will be assessed using a Likert-scale based questionnaire.
On day of colonoscopy before procedure (Day 0)

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Centre

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

  • 1) Lam TYT, Wu PI, Tang RSY, et al. Nurse-led reinforced education by mobile messenger improves the quality of bowel preparation of colonoscopy in a population-based colorectal cancer screening program: A randomized controlled trial. Int J Nurs Stud. Published online May 30, 2022. doi:10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2022.104301.

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 23, 2025

Primary Completion (Actual)

December 26, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

December 26, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

January 2, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 15, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

February 23, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

February 23, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 15, 2026

Last Verified

February 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • IRB-25-09

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

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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