Helping people make informed choices about cancer screening programmes digitally

Federico Guede

V4H - Associação para a Investigação em Valor e Inovação Tecnológica em Saúde, Portugal

Cancer screening can save lives, but people need clear and balanced information about its benefits and possible harms before deciding whether to participate. While decision aids help people understand their options and make choices, access remains inconsistent. This project aims to improve informed participation in cancer screening in Portugal through a newly developed digital platform.

Experts in cancer prevention, primary care, implementation science and patient decision support will adapt existing decision aids for cervical and colorectal cancer screening to the Portuguese context and redesign them for digital use. Patients and clinicians will co-design the platform, which will include automated delivery, reminders and engagement monitoring and will send information directly to eligible people before they make a screening decision. A primary-care pilot will assess reach, use and impact on decision-making through platform data and interviews.

The project could make access to balanced information more consistent and equitable. It may also support scalable, person-centred screening programmes that help people make informed choices based on their individual preferences.

• Bruno Heleno, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal

• Ana Maria, Unidade Local de Saúde de Lisboa Ocidental, Portugal

DECIDE-SCREEN. Digital decision aids to support informed cancer screening in primary care: a pilot study

€79.200,77