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. 2017 Dec 13;17(1):847.
doi: 10.1186/s12885-017-3870-8.

Development of mobile technologies for the prevention of cervical cancer in Santiago, Chile study protocol: a randomized controlled trial

McKenzie C Momany  1 , Javiera Martinez-Gutierrez  2 , Mauricio Soto  3 , Daniel Capurro  4 , Francis Ciampi  5 , Beti Thompson  6 , Klaus Puschel  3
Affiliations

Development of mobile technologies for the prevention of cervical cancer in Santiago, Chile study protocol: a randomized controlled trial

McKenzie C Momany et al. BMC Cancer. .

Abstract

Background: In Chile, more than 500 women die every year from cervical cancer, and a majority of Chilean women are not up-to-date with their Papanicolau (Pap) test. Mobile health has great potential in many health areas, particularly in health promotion and prevention. There are no randomized controlled trials in Latin America assessing its use in cervical cancer screening. The 'Development of Mobile Technologies for the Prevention of Cervical Cancer in Santiago, Chile' study aims to determine the efficacy of a text-message intervention on Pap test adherence among Chilean women in the metropolitan region of Santiago.

Methods/design: This study is a parallel randomized-controlled trial of 400 Chilean women aged 25-64 who are non-adherent with current recommendations for Pap test screening. Participants will be randomly assigned to (1) a control arm (usual care) or (2) an intervention arm, where text and voice messages containing information and encouragement to undergo screening will be sent to the women. The primary endpoint is completion of a Pap test within 6 months of baseline assessment, as determined by medical record review at community-based clinics. Medical record reviewers will be blinded to randomization arms. The secondary endpoint is an evaluation of the implementation and usability of the text message intervention as a strategy to improve screening adherence.

Discussion: This intervention using mobile technology intends to raise cervical cancer screening adherence and compliance among a Chilean population of low and middle-low socioeconomic status. If successful, this strategy may reduce the incidence of cervical cancer.

Trial registration: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT02376023 Registered 2/17/2015. First participant enrolled Feb 22nd 2016.

Keywords: Cancer disparities; Cervical cancer screening; Chilean women; Pap test.

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Conflict of interest statement

Authors’ information

McKenzie Momany: is a medical student at the University of Washington School of Medicine. She graduated from Whitman College in 2014 with a B.A. in Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology.

Javiera Martinez-Gutierrez: Is a family physician from P. Universidad Católica de Chile and Master of Public Health from University of Washington, Seattle. She is currently assistant professor at P. Universidad Católica and medical director of one of the University’s Community Health Care Centers. Her research interests are cancer prevention; health disparities and community based participatory research.

Mauricio Soto: Is a family physician from P. Universidad Católica de Chile and Master of Health Management from University of Montréal, Canada. He is currently an academic member of the Family Medicine Department at P. Universidad Católica. His research interests are health information technologies and primary health care management.

Daniel Capurro: is an Internist from P. Universidad Católica de Chile and PhD in Biomedical Informatics from the University of Washington. Currently he is Associate Professor at P. Universidad Católica de Chile, Chief Medical Information Officer at Red de Salud UC – CHRISTUS and Co-director of the National Center for Health Information Systems in Chile. His research interests are focus on health information systems.

Francis Ciampi: is a registered nurse and Director of El Roble Family Health Care Center.

Beti Thompson: Is a full member at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and a Professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Washington. Her work focuses on health disparities especially among Latinos. Her research utilizes community-based participatory research.

Klaus Puschel: Is a family physician from P. Universidad Católica de Chile, Master of Public Health from University of Washington, Seattle, and Master of Bioethics, University of Louvain, Belgium. He is full Professor. His research areas are related with health disparities, community medicine and cancer prevention.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

This study has been approved by the IRB of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Committee Reference Number: CEC MED UC 14–213.

All participants signed an informed consent describing the study and its implications.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Study protocol. Participants´ randomization scheme
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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