Jo Jo: Your Colon and You

“Jo Jo: Your Colon and You,” is an animated production created to educate patients about the importance of colorectal screening, the various screening modalities and detailed information about colonoscopic screening. The animation is intended for use in patient waiting rooms, health fairs, television and social media venues. The goal was to develop an educational tool to be used in a variety of settings with appeal primarily to men, but to a wider audience, as well. Based on Colorado health statistics data in 2008, screening rates were slightly lower for men than women and only 30% of those screened in the state's colorectal screening program for the medically underserved were men; hence, the Colorectal Task Force began to explore ways to increase screening rates in men 50 and older. Based on focus group results, consumers and partner organizations noted that existing materials and videos did not capture the attention of the audience or provide enough detail about the process of endoscopic screening. Additional focus groups were conducted to learn more about the type of messaging that was most effective in the target audience, as well as the message itself. The findings included: keep the message short and simple; elicit ‘help' from the female medical decision maker in the household; use humor, particularly a more irreverent brand of humor; references to sports was a good approach with men in this demographic and noting colonoscopy was typically not needed every year.