Can Prevention-Oriented Communication Via Health Organization Websites Affect Adherence to Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening? An Exploratory Study in Italy

Background: Public organizations in healthcare are progressively adopting digital tools to disseminate information regarding the benefits of screening. Nevertheless, no research has hitherto been conducted to investigate the link between the website-based health communications and cancer screening uptake. This study addresses this gap by assessing whether health communications conveyed via the websites of local health organizations improve adherence to breast and cervical cancer screening. Methods: We performed thematic content analysis of 97 websites belonging to Italian health organizations based on the OSEC-p model. This latter was developed to measure the compliance of prevention-oriented health communication with the effectiveness requirements indicated in the model. Next, correlation and regression analyses were performed to examine the relationship between the average regional OSEC-p scores and the regional breast and cervical cancer screening adherence rates reported by the National Centre for Screening Monitoring in 2022. Results: The findings show that the prevention-oriented health communication via health organizations’ websites can explain the 45% of the variance in female cancer (breast and cervical) screening uptake. Patient engagement tools and information on preventive cancer initiatives are key web-based communication elements that enhance cancer screening adherence. Conclusion: This exploratory study is one of the first to highlight the importance of digital health communications for improving cancer screening and public health. It offers insights both for national health policy-makers to optimize health economics through screening campaigns and health organizations managers to enhance the compliance of health communication on websites with the effectiveness requirements defined in the OSEC-p model.