A Personalised and Gamified Digital Decision Aid for Colorectal Cancer Screening: A Randomised Controlled Pilot Study.
A digital screening tool shows limited real-world engagement, revealing that patient education and accessibility—not technology alone—are key barriers to colorectal cancer screening.
This RCT of a gamified digital decision aid for CRC screening showed no significant difference in FOBT uptake between intervention and control arms, and critically, only 1% of the target population engaged with the app, highlighting major adoption barriers for digital health screening tools. The finding of only 17% meeting informed-choice criteria reveals a substantial gap in screening literacy that digital tools alone may not bridge.
What the study was
- Study design
- Randomized controlled pilot trial (two-arm, smartphone app-based)
- Population
- Individuals born 1973–1974 invited for first CRC screening by Local Health Authority of Brescia, Italy; 248 downloaded app
- Sample size
- 248
- Category
- Prevention
- Maturity
- Exploratory
- Journal
- Cancer Medicine
Why it surfaced
RCT of digital screening engagement tool; results are largely null/negative (1% app adoption) but informative for implementation research; unsolicited_find as primary match is cancer screening engagement rather than core watchlist liquid biopsy/ctDNA.
A plain-language summary of published research — not medical advice. Talk to a clinician about your own care.