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TOPLINE
Among individuals in London who were due for cervical screening between 2021 and 2024, those who received a GP-endorsed short message service (SMS) reminder were more likely to attend cervical screening than those who did not receive the reminder.
METHODOLOGY
- Researchers conducted a secondary analysis of NHS data (June 2021 to March 2024) to assess whether GP-endorsed SMS reminders could affect attendance for cervical screening when implemented at scale.
- The analysis included more than 3.1 million individuals aged 24-64 years from participating London GP practices who were due for cervical screening, with 3.5-year intervals for those aged 25-49 years and 5.5-year intervals for those aged 50-64 years.
- Individuals were divided into those who received a GP-endorsed SMS reminder containing GP details and links to information approximately 2 weeks after an initial invitation letter (n = 2,112,003; mean age, 38.4 years) and those for whom the SMS reminder was not delivered due to system errors such as data updates in records or individual factors such as opt-outs of SMS (n = 1,015,756; mean age, 36.6 years).
- The primary outcome was the likelihood of attending cervical screening before the end of the cycle after the initial invitation letter.
TAKEAWAY
- Attendance for cervical screening was 51.7% among individuals who received an SMS reminder vs 25.0% among those who did not receive an SMS reminder.
- After adjustment for all measured factors, individuals who successfully received an SMS reminder had higher odds of attending screening (odds ratio, 3.36; P < .0001).
IN PRACTICE
"The effectiveness of such interventions is contingent on successful delivery, and incomplete contact information for individuals or gaps in digital access could limit the population effect," the authors wrote.
SOURCE
The study was led by Beth Nichol, PhD, NIHR Policy Research Unit, Behavioural and Social Sciences, Population Health Sciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It was published online on September 29, 2026, in The Lancet Primary Care.
LIMITATIONS
Individuals were grouped by whether an SMS reminder was delivered. Information on ethnicity and clustering of practices was not available in records; hence, these factors could not be accounted for. The reasons why many texts were not scheduled were unknown.
DISCLOSURES
The study was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and the National Recovery and Resilience Plan of the Republic of Bulgaria. One author reported receiving funding from the NIHR Policy Research Unit on Cancer Awareness, Screening and Early Diagnosis.
This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.
