General practice focussed strategies to increase participation in lung cancer screening – a systematic review protocol

Background Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. Despite this, the uptake of lung cancer screening (LCS) using low-dose CT is substantially low in comparison to established cancer screening programmes. Additionally, those at higher risk of the disease are the least likely to participate in screening, including current smokers and those experiencing socioeconomic deprivation. General practice (which may be referred to as primary care or family medicine depending on location) plays a vital role in screening through the identification of eligible individuals, overcoming participation barriers, and facilitating shared decision-making. Given the low rates of participation, it is important to understand which, if any, strategies from general practice could improve the effectiveness of a national programme. Objectives To assess and quantify the effects of strategies implemented in general practice to increase participation in LCS. Method A systematic review and meta-analysis, where possible, will be conducted following PRISMA reporting guidelines. Searches of PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, ClinicalTrials.gov, and the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform will be conducted. All randomised trials, non-randomised studies, and quantitative descriptive studies that report recruitment strategies based in general practice and LCS outcomes will be eligible. Screening and data extraction will be conducted independently by two reviewers. The risk of bias and overall certainty of findings will be assessed using the MMAT and GRADE tools, respectively. The Template for Intervention Description and Replication (TIDieR) checklist will be used for data extraction and the Behavioural Change Techniques (BCT) Taxonomy for data analysis of the components of interventions. Conclusion This review will provide data on the most effective general practice-based recruitment strategies aimed at improving LCS participation. Understanding the most effective and equitable strategies is important in the development of successful LCS and ensuring individuals at the greatest risk can participate.