208493 Colorectal Cancer Screening Latino Community Health Worker Program

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Ana M. Navarro, PhD , Family and Preventive Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA
Olga Sanchez , Moores UCSD Cancer Center, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA
May Sung, MPH , California Division, American Cancer Society, Oakland, CA
Julie Shaver, MPH , California Division, American Cancer Society, Campbell, CA
Carolyn Bruzdzinski, PhD , California Division, American Cancer Society, Oakland, CA
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is among the three leading sites of new cancers and cancer deaths in the country. Early detection is critical to improve the prognosis. The utilization of recommended screening tests is low among Latinos compared to Non-Latino white, African American, and Asian/Pacific Islander communities.

The California division of a national community based organization, a leader in fighting cancer, joined efforts with a team experienced in community health worker (promotores) approaches to develop a program that follows community-based participatory principles.

Ten community based organizations (CBO) in California with existing promotores programs participated in the program. The goal was to promote awareness of CRC early detection in medically underserved Latino communities.

Educational materials were developed to guide a 2-hour group session. Promotores training sessions were conducted with each of the participating CBOs. Session participants completed questionnaires before the session, after the session, and 4-6 weeks after the session.

A total of 123 groups were completed in 2008 with a total of 1,620 participants. At least 95% of participants completed pretest or posttest, and 72% completed all three questionnaires.

The results indicated that the program was feasible and was well received. Awareness of CRC screening tests increased from 30.5% at pretest to 98.8% at follow-up. The percentage of participants 50 years old or older who had ever had CRC screening also had an statistically significant increase (McNemar tests, p<.001).

The results must be interpreted with caution because of the quasi-experimental design and because all data are based on self-report. Nevertheless, the success of the implementation and the results indicate that this is a promising program to address CRC disparities.

Learning Objectives:
Identify key components of a program to increase awareness of colorectal cancer screening in medically underserved Latino Communities. Describe evaluation strategies to assess the implementation and impact of the program.

Keywords: Community Health Promoters, Cancer Screening

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am Associate Professor of Family and Preventive Medicine. I have led community-based participatory research programs in cancer prevention and control for more than 15 years. The programs include community health workers addressing health disparities in Latino communities. I teach, participate on professional conferences, and publish in the area.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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