BACKGROUND: Poor U.K. lung cancer survival rates may, in part, be due to late diagnosis. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effectiveness of a mixed-method community-based social marketing intervention on lung cancer diagnoses. METHODS: A public awareness campaign in conjunction with brief intervention training in general practices was piloted in six localities with a high lung cancer incidence. End points were self-reported awareness of lung cancer symptoms; intention to seek healthcare; chest x-ray referral rates in primary care; secular trends in the incidence of lung cancer and stage at diagnosis, compared before and after the intervention. RESULTS: 21% (128/600) (95% CI 18% to 25%) of the targeted population recalled something about the campaign. Compared with a responder in the control area, the odds of a responder in the intervention area saying that they would visit their general practitioner and request a chest x-ray for a cough was 1.97 times (95% CI 1.18 to 3.31, p=0.01). Primary care chest x-ray referral rates increased by 20% in the targeted practices in the year following the intervention compared with a 2% fall in the control practices. The difference was highly significant, with an incidence rate ratio of 1.22 (95% CI 1.12 to 1.33, p=0.001). There was a 27% increase in lung cancer diagnoses in the intervention area compared with a fall in the control area. The incidence rate ratio was 1.42 (95% CI 0.83 to 2.44 p=0.199). CONCLUSION: This is encouraging early evidence that an awareness and early recognition initiative may facilitate lung cancer diagnosis.
BACKGROUND: Poor U.K. lung cancer survival rates may, in part, be due to late diagnosis. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effectiveness of a mixed-method community-based social marketing intervention on lung cancer diagnoses. METHODS: A public awareness campaign in conjunction with brief intervention training in general practices was piloted in six localities with a high lung cancer incidence. End points were self-reported awareness of lung cancer symptoms; intention to seek healthcare; chest x-ray referral rates in primary care; secular trends in the incidence of lung cancer and stage at diagnosis, compared before and after the intervention. RESULTS: 21% (128/600) (95% CI 18% to 25%) of the targeted population recalled something about the campaign. Compared with a responder in the control area, the odds of a responder in the intervention area saying that they would visit their general practitioner and request a chest x-ray for a cough was 1.97 times (95% CI 1.18 to 3.31, p=0.01). Primary care chest x-ray referral rates increased by 20% in the targeted practices in the year following the intervention compared with a 2% fall in the control practices. The difference was highly significant, with an incidence rate ratio of 1.22 (95% CI 1.12 to 1.33, p=0.001). There was a 27% increase in lung cancer diagnoses in the intervention area compared with a fall in the control area. The incidence rate ratio was 1.42 (95% CI 0.83 to 2.44 p=0.199). CONCLUSION: This is encouraging early evidence that an awareness and early recognition initiative may facilitate lung cancer diagnosis.
Authors: Sarah Smith; Shona Fielding; Peter Murchie; Marie Johnston; Sally Wyke; Rachael Powell; Graham Devereux; Marianne Nicolson; Una Macleod; Phil Wilson; Lewis Ritchie; Amanda J Lee; Neil C Campbell Journal: Br J Gen Pract Date: 2013-01 Impact factor: 5.386
Authors: Glenys Caswell; Jane Seymour; Vincent Crosby; Asmah Hussain; Cathann Manderson; Sarah Farnan; Sarah Freer; Alison Freemantle; Fran Littlewood; Andrew Wilcock Journal: Support Care Cancer Date: 2017-02-21 Impact factor: 3.603
Authors: Sonya R Murray; Peter Murchie; Neil Campbell; Fiona M Walter; Danielle Mazza; Emily Habgood; Yvonne Kutzer; Andrew Martin; Stephen Goodall; David J Barnes; Jon D Emery Journal: BMJ Open Date: 2015-05-18 Impact factor: 2.692
Authors: Jon D Emery; Victoria Gray; Fiona M Walter; Shelley Cheetham; Emma J Croager; Terry Slevin; Christobel Saunders; Tim Threlfall; Kirsten Auret; Anna K Nowak; Elizabeth Geelhoed; Max Bulsara; C D'Arcy J Holman Journal: BMJ Open Date: 2014-09-17 Impact factor: 2.692
Authors: Ruth E C Evans; Melanie Morris; Mandeep Sekhon; Marta Buszewicz; Fiona M Walter; Jo Waller; Alice E Simon Journal: Br J Gen Pract Date: 2014-06 Impact factor: 5.386