Missing Information

Screening for Bowel Cancer: Increasing Participation via Personal Invitation A Randomized Intervention Study by Dr. sc. hum. Michael Hoffmeister, Dr. sc. hum. Bernd Holleczek, Dr. sc. hum. Nadine Zwink, Dr. sc. hum. Christian Stock, Dipl.-Inform. Med. Christa Stegmaier, and Prof. Dr. med. Hermann Brenner in issue 6/2017

Hoffmeister et al. studied the effect of a written invitation to participate in bowel cancer screening on participation rates in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) (1). Since the tested materials were not published alongside the article, interpreting the results is impossible. It is a widespread problem that especially the details of non-medication-based interventions are not reported to a satisfactory degree (2). Materials used should always be published—for example, as a web appendix.

The name of the SAMS Study („Saarland gegen Darmkrebs – Machen Sie mit!“- Saarland Against Bowel Cancer—Join In!) implies that the intervention is such that people are invited to participate. This is in direct contradiction to current health political objectives. In the context of the German National Cancer Plan, several objectives were formulated between 2008 and 2011 on the basis of a wide consensus, in order to strengthen patients' competence; these include the provision of evidence-based information and participatory decision making, among others (3). In the meantime, the bowel cancer screening foundation Stiftung LebensBlicke has articulated in its declaration of Mannheim: „All entitled persons have the right to balanced information on the benefits and risks of bowel cancer screening, which allows for informed decision-making.“

These requirements are currently being implemented in the context of the Law on the Further Development of the Early Detection of Cancer and Quality Assurance Through Clinical Cancer Registries, which provides for „comprehensive and comprehensible information for insurance scheme members as regards the benefits and risks of the relevant procedure“ (§ 25a paragraph 1 No. 2 SGB V [social security statutes]). Relevant information for organized bowel cancer screening has been developed with the help of citizens and experts (4).

If the materials used in the SAMS Study did not adhere to these standards, an opportunity was missed to ensure that the requirement for evidence-based information and participatory decision making is gaining default status.

DOI: 10.3238/arztebl.2017.0426a

Roland Büchter, Dr. rer. medic. Klaus Koch, Regina Will
Ressort Gesundheitsinformation, Institut für Qualität und Wirtschaftlichkeit
im Gesundheitswesen (IQWiG), Köln

References

1. Hoffmeister M, Holleczek B, Zwink N, Stock C, Stegmaier C, Brenner H: Screening for bowel cancer: increasing participation via personal invitation—a randomized intervention study. Dtsch Arztebl Int 2017; 114: 87–93

2. Glasziou P, Altman DG, Bossuyt P, et al.: Reducing waste from incomplete or unusable reports of biomedical research. Lancet 2014; 383: 267–76

3. Bundesministerium für Gesundheit: Ziele des Nationalen Krebsplans. www.bundesgesundheitsministerium.de/themen/praevention/nationaler-krebsplan/oeffentlichkeitsarbeit/handlungsfelder/ziele-des-nationalen-krebsplans.html (last accessed on 17 February 2017).

4. Institut für Qualität und Wirtschaftlichkeit im Gesundheitswesen: Einladungsschreiben und Entscheidungshilfen zum Darmkrebs-Screening: Abschlussbericht. www.iqwig.de/de/projekte-ergebnisse/projekte/gesundheitsinformation/p15–01-einladungsschreiben-und-entscheidungshilfe-zum-darmkrebs-screening.6620.html#overview (last accessed on 17 February 2017).