Screening More Patients for Colorectal Cancer Through Adapting and Refining Targeted Evidence-Based Interventions in Rural Settings, SMARTER CRC

This study collects information to provide a model for how to rapidly adapt and scale-up multilevel interventions through clinic-health plan partnerships to reduce the burden of colorectal cancer (CRC) on the United states population. This study may improve colorectal cancer screening rates, follow-up colonoscopy, and referral to care in rural Medicaid patients.

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: I. Adapt, pilot, then test the implementation and scale-up of targeted direct mail and patient navigation programs. OUTLINE: This is an implementation-effectiveness trial of direct mail outreach and patient navigation intervention to improve rates of CRC screening. Eligible patients will be mailed a fecal immunochemical test (FIT). The mailed FIT and patient navigation interventions are a part of standard care and are carried out by the Medicaid health plan or clinic. Outcomes are tracked using reports from direct mail vendors, claims data from participating Medicaid health plans, clinic data from the electronic health record, chart review, and data from a REDCap database. The hypotheses will be tested using a two-arm cluster randomized trial design. Participating clinics will be randomized into two groups: Intervention and Usual Care. Medicaid health plans/ Coordinated care organizations (CCO) and clinic leadership participate in interviews and complete surveys. The primary effectiveness outcome of this study is CRC screening likelihood in eligible Medicaid patients in intervention and control clinics at 6 months. Data will be collected at 6 time points: baseline, 6-months, 12-months, 18-months, 24-months, and 36-months. Implementation outcomes and adaptations will be evaluated through interviews with clinic staff, patients, and CCO partners. Clinic staff in various roles related to the program (e.g., outreach workers, patient navigators, quality improvement leads) complete surveys and participate in interviews and observations at baseline, 6-9 months (post-implementation) and at approximately 12 months later, to assess clinic/health system level factors that may influence outcomes. Patients participate in interviews to explore patient experiences with the program. Regional and Organizational partners: CCO leaders, endoscopy providers (e.g., gastrointestinal specialists, general surgeons, primary care clinicians), and community organizations also participate in interviews.