Testing interventions to increase participation in the Australian National Bowel Cancer Screening Program among persistent never-screeners: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

Abstract

Background: Bowel cancer screening using faecal immunochemical tests (FIT) can detect early signs of bowel cancer and pre-cancerous adenoma. Early detection enables early diagnosis and treatment thereby reducing associated morbidity and mortality from bowel cancer. The National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP) in Australia mails free FIT kits to eligible people aged 50–74 every 2 years; currently, only 42% of people return their kits. People aged 45–49 are eligible but need to request their kit, and as this has been recently introduced, participation data are not yet available. Many people never participate despite multiple invitations; ‘persistent never screeners’ are defined as peopl..