ABACus 3 - Awareness and Beliefs About Cancer phase 3
Research type
Research Study
Full title
AWARENESS AND BELIEFS ABOUT CANCER PHASE 3 (ABACUS 3): RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIAL OF THE HEALTH CHECK INTERVENTION TO IMPROVE CANCER SYMPTOM AWARENESS AND HELP-SEEKING AMONG PEOPLE LIVING IN SOCIOECONOMICALLY DEPRIVED COMMUNITIES
IRAS ID
232998
Contact name
Yvonne Moriarty
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Cardiff University
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 5 months, 0 days
Research summary
Cancer survival rates are lower in disadvantaged communities, possibly due to low awareness of symptoms and delayed help-seeking. It is important that people increase their knowledge of cancer symptoms, so that they know when to seek medical advice, and therefore possibly detecting cancer earlier, which will improve their outlook. We have developed an interactive online health check questionnaire to be delivered in these communities by trained advisors. It asks participants 29 questions on their background, lifestyle and health. A traffic light (red, amber, green) summary page is produced based on their response, highlighting areas where action and/or advice should be taken.
We will recruit 246 participants over 12 months who speak English, are over 40, from South West Yorkshire and South Wales and who have not taken part in ABACus 2. Participants will complete questionnaires at three time points during the trial (when recruited, two weeks and six months later). Questions will ask about their knowledge of specific and non-specific cancer symptoms, some background health information and their readiness to seek medical help and advice. All participants will receive a total of £15 in high-street voucher as a thank you for taking part. They will receive £10 after completing the baseline assessment and a further £5 after completing the 6 month follow-up assessment.
Participants will be randomised to the treatment or control group. Those in the treatment group will complete the online health check, facilitated by an advisor. Once all follow-up data has been collected, it will be compared to test if people in the treatment group increased their cancer symptom awareness after completing the online health check. We will also investigate how the intervention was implemented and conducted (this is called a process evaluation) and evaluate the cost-effectiveness of delivering the health check. Some participants will also be asked to take part in an interview at the end of the trial to find out more about their wider experiences of cancer awareness initiatives.REC name
London - Surrey Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/LO/1507
Date of REC Opinion
12 Oct 2017
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion