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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Wornie Reed, PhD, Sociology and Africana Studies, University of Tennessee, 1115 Volunteer Blvd, 1206 McClung Tower, Knoxville, TN 37996, 865-974-6957, wreed5@utk.edu and Kay Colby, BA, Public Health Television, 258 Moorewood Ave., Avon Lake, OH 44012.

This presentation will describe a video-based approach to assisting physicians and other public health workers in becoming culturally competent in treating low-income African Americans. This approach is based on the successful Urban Cancer Project, a National Cancer Institute-funded collaboration between social scientists, a comprehensive center, and a video-production company. We conducted focus group sessions with low-income community residents to better understand barriers that discourage low-income African Americans from getting screened for cancer and adhering to treatment. This intense research yielded a unique understanding of barriers that keep some low-income African Americans from seeking medical care and adhering to treatment. The resulting videos were tested and shown to be effective in influencing behavior as well as attitudes. We won two Regional Emmys for the television messages, which increased requests for screening at selected neighborhood health centers. This presentation will describe the development, content, and test of a cultural competency video.

Methods: Our approach was based on a triad of expertise, including (1) focus groups, (2) media experience, and (3) medical expertise. 1. We conducted 44 focus groups with African American residents of public housing age 40 and older to gain an understanding of the common fears and medical beliefs held by some low-income African Americans regarding the medical care system, cancer, and cancer treatments. The focus group discussions were audio-taped, transcribed, and analyzed with NUD*IST computer software. 2. From major themes developed in the analysis of the focus group material, rough cut videos were produced. This production process was iterative, as videos were refined as a result of the critiques of the focus groups. 3. Medical advisors also critiqued the videos for medical validity.

Results: • 58.3% of the 49 participants in the seminar evaluated the video as “very useful,” and another 31.3% judged it as “useful.” • Among the 19 physicians in the test, 52.6% said the video was “very useful,” and 26.3% said it was “useful.” • In the post-test, 73.7% of physicians said that physicians should ask probing questions about religion, and another 10% said this should occur sometimes. In the pretest only 56.3% of the physicians said this should occur. • One physician said for attribution “I've been in practice fifty-odd years and what I learned from this was how much I had missed during all those years.”

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to

• List four types of ethno-medical beliefs that impede cancer control among low-income African Americans.
• Discuss the role of cross-cultural communication in medical encounters
• Describe an approach to improving cultural competency among physicians

Keywords: Cultural Competency, Medical Care

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation