The ONCOSCREEN project has proposed that citizens’ opinions be considered when selecting alternative tests for CRC screening. The views of people participating in screening programmes are extremely valuable. The more acceptable the testing experience is to people, the more likely it is that more people will participate in screening programmes, and thus, the more likely screening programmes are to save lives.
ONCOSCREEN has designed a questionnaire to capture these views. It has been translated into all the languages across the countries participating in the trials and will be shared with each participant once they have provided their samples. One trial site has already commenced this process, and the others are soon to do the same. These will focus on their experience of using the new tests, asking their views on three specific topics:
Acceptability
The first topic considers if, upon completing the process of providing samples for each of the tests (blood, stool and breath), the person feels the experience was acceptable. This is a measure of the acceptability of the sample method, and as such participants are asked about their experience regarding each of the samples they are required to provide. They will also be asked for their opinion on colonoscopy.
For each of the samples (blood, stool, breath) and the colonoscopy, the participant will rate their opinion on a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) across seven different aspects that enable an analysis of acceptability. These aspects include, for example, whether they felt safe using the method to provide the sample, whether the process was comfortable, or whether they had any concerns or fears when providing the sample.
The results for these seven aspects are then used to construct an aggregate index for each participant for each sample method. The indices for participants in each country taking part in the clinical trial can then be compared. Ultimately, this will reveal the degree of acceptability for each of the sample methods within each of the ONCOSCREEN clinical trial geographies.
Willingness
The second issue explored is the participants’ willingness to use the sample method again. This measurement indicates whether the experience was so acceptable that the person would be willing to repeat it. This is also asked for each of the sample methods.
Affordability
The third topic participants are asked about is whether they consider the sample method to be affordable, looking specifically at if they are willing to pay for it out of their own pocket. To this end, reference costs are provided for each of the tests. Given that the countries included in the clinical trial have different health financing arrangements, these results are especially useful for the adoption of the tests within specific healthcare systems.
In addition to these three topics, participants in the clinical trial will also be asked for their views on the funding schemes being explored in ONCOSCREEN, and on the factors influencing people’s behaviour regarding CRC screening.
Next Steps
The collection of questionnaires has already begun in Portugal and is expected to start in other countries in the coming weeks.
Once all participants’ questionnaires have been collected, the analysis will proceed, and the results will be used to compare the tests used in ONCOSCREEN based on acceptability, willingness and affordability.
For the ONCOSCREEN project, the design and testing of this methodology—which allows for the incorporation of citizens’ views in the evaluation of new tests for new screening programmes—is highly rewarding. We hope that this methodology will prove useful for the screening of other types of cancer, or in the exploration of tests in other areas of healthcare.