A pragmatic pre-post intervention trial to address adherence to lung cancer screening follow-up in community settings (the ACCELL trial): Study protocol.

backgroundLung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Annual lung cancer screening (LCS) with low-dose chest CT (LDCT) can prevent lung cancer deaths in high-risk individuals; However, these benefits are tempered by low adherence to annual screening and low rates of follow-up for those with abnormal findings.

objectiveTo evaluate the impact of centralized approaches to care coordination on LCS follow-up in community settings through a hybrid implementation-effectiveness trial.

methodsThis is a pre-post intervention trial of a pragmatic and flexible approach to LCS care coordination delivered at the system-level at two community LCS programs based at regional hospitals in Washington state. Care coordination approaches include standardized LCS follow-up workflows incorporating universal tracking of LCS results, universal results delivery to patients, stepped approaches to follow-up reminders and personalized approaches to positive findings. Participants who are eligible for and undergo LCS during either period (n ∼ 6750) will be included. Primary outcomes include adjusted changes in screening adherence to annual follow-up and follow-up for positive findings between the pre- (August 2022-March 2025) and post- (March 2025-September 2027) intervention period. Secondary outcomes include assessing the impact of interventions by community site, patient ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and rurality. We will also assess the implementation of the intervention with attention to adaptation, sustainability and equity. DISCUSSION: Implementing centralizing care coordination models may decrease barriers and improve adherence to LCS in community settings and serve as a model to improve LCS follow-up in clinical care settings. REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov ID NCT06324110.