The effectiveness of mobile health intervention in colorectal cancer screening in Iran

Zivar Rostami; Sareh Shakerian

doi:10.4103/jrms.jrms_21_25

The effectiveness of mobile health intervention in colorectal cancer screening in Iran

J Res Med Sci. 2025 May 26:30:29. doi: 10.4103/jrms.jrms_21_25. eCollection 2025.

Authors

Zivar Rostami¹, Sareh Shakerian¹

Affiliation

¹ Department of Community-Based Education of Health Sciences, School of Medical Education and Learning Technologies, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the impact of mobile health (mHealth) intervention on colorectal cancer (CRC) screening.

Materials and methods: This semiexperimental study collected data from individuals aged 50-70 years who had no history of CRC screening. Participants (n = 350) were randomly assigned to one control and five intervention groups. The data were collected by theory-based CRC screening questionnaire before and after the mHealth intervention.

Results: The results indicated a significant improvement in screening rates when utilizing mHealth interventions, which included text messages, videos, and telephone calls from health workers, showing a rate of 68.6% (P < 0.001) compared to 5.7% of individuals in the routine care group. Logistic regression analysis revealed that "perceived severity" and "perceived benefits" were significantly associated with increased screening uptake, compared to the routine care group.

Conclusion: The current study indicates that mobile phone technology significantly impacts the outreach efforts for encouraging the covered population to participate in screening.

Keywords: Colorectal cancer; effectiveness; mobile phone technology; screening.