This pilot study assessed the feasibility and acceptability of SMS-based recruitment for cervical cancer screening among 294 women in an urban sector of Kigali, Rwanda, who had missed a prior local screening campaign and had mobile phone access.
86.4% (254/294) of eligible women attended cervical cancer screening after receiving up to 3 SMS invitations; of those, 92.9% (236/254) attributed their attendance to the SMS reminder. High message comprehension and acceptability were reported. Most non-attendees cited circumstantial barriers, not lack of SMS receipt.
Single urban sector in Kigali limits generalizability to rural or lower-resource settings in Rwanda. No comparator group (usual recruitment methods), making it impossible to attribute attendance gains to SMS alone. Pilot design with descriptive analysis only—no efficacy testing.
SMS reminders appear to be a highly feasible and well-accepted tool to boost cervical cancer screening attendance in urban Rwanda. Clinicians and public health programs in similar settings may consider SMS outreach for women who miss scheduled screening campaigns.
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