Patients' Preferences About Rescheduling Colonoscopies Delayed Due to COVID-19: Cross Sectional Study
Condition: Colon Cancer
MeSH terms: COVID-19; Colonic Neoplasms
Study type: Observational

Summary: 
      The study is a cross-sectional survey study targeting patients aged 45-75 who had their
      screening or surveillance colonoscopy postponed or delayed due to the COVID pandemic. Study
      staff will survey a random subsample of patients to assess anxiety, COVID risk tolerance,
      cancer worry, willingness to screen and barriers to screening colonoscopy, and preference for
      colonoscopy and alternative colon cancer screening options.

      Eligible patients will be sent a survey packet in the mail that will include a cover letter,
      an information sheet describing the study, an incentive, and the survey. The cover letter
      will include information for participants to opt-out if they desire. Patients will be asked
      to complete the survey and return it back to study staff. Consent is implied with return of
      the survey.

      For the study, staff plan to invite 300 patients and expect to receive 195 completed surveys.
      Analyses will examine whether COVID-19 has changed patients' interest in colon cancer
      screening and the strength of patients' preferences for colonoscopy and other approaches to
      colon cancer screening. It will then examine factors associated with positive and negative
      views on rescheduling colonoscopies such as anxiety, worry, and risk perceptions.
    

Detailed description: 
      The study is a cross-sectional survey study targeting patients aged 45-75 who had their
      screening or surveillance colonoscopy postponed or delayed due to the COVID pandemic. Staff
      will survey a random subsample of patients to assess anxiety, COVID risk tolerance, cancer
      worry, willingness to screen and barriers to screening colonoscopy, and preference for
      colonoscopy and alternative colon cancer screening options.

      Study staff will work with the gastroenterology department to identify patients whose
      colonoscopy has been delayed due to COVID-19 and who meet the eligibility criteria. A random
      sample of about 300 eligible patients will be selected for the survey study.

      Eligible patients will be sent a survey packet in the mail that will include a cover letter,
      an information sheet describing the study, an incentive, and the survey. The cover letter
      will include information for participants to opt-out if they desire. Patients will be asked
      to complete the survey and return it back to study staff. Patients will also be able to
      complete the survey online via a RedCap link. Consent is implied with return of the completed
      survey. Staff will make up to three reminder phone calls and will send a reminder packet to
      non responders.

      The study staff will invite 300 patients and expect to receive about 195 completed surveys.

      Analyses will first examine whether there are differences between responders and non
      responders. Then, the analysis will examine descriptive statistics exploring patients'
      interest in colon cancer screening, strength of preference for switching to stool based
      testing or postponing colonoscopy for a year. The analyses will explore patients' perspective
      towards colonoscopy in the coming months and factors associated with positive or negative
      perceptions of colonoscopy such as anxiety, cancer worry, COVID worry and risk perceptions.
      The relationships between these factors will be examined using chi-square analysis (for
      categorical data) and correlations (for continuous data). Models will be used to explore
      factors associated with different preferences for screening.
    

Observational model: Other
Time perspective: Cross-Sectional
Sampling method: Non-Probability Sample
Study population: 
        Adult patients aged 45-75 who had their colonoscopy delayed or postponed due to the
        COVID-19 pandemic.
      
Keywords: shared decision making; colon cancer screening; COVID-19; waitlist