Native American cancer 101 education modules

Mayo Clinic's Spirit of Eagles, in conjunction with the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board, sponsored the development of the original (2004) and revised (2011) generic versions of Cancer 101, a program that is disseminated nationwide by the Cancer Information Service. Three new modules were added to the curriculum in 2011: Role of Genes (module 4), Biospecimens and Biobanking (module 8) and Chronic Conditions and Cancer (module 9). The generic version is designed to be presented in its entirety through an 8-hour workshop with each module lasting ~30-45 minutes. Spirit of EAGLES identified a Working Group to modify the 3 generic modules into culturally appropriate Native American versions. The Working Group, while recognizing the original program's time specifications, focused on cultural modifications, adding participant interactive activities, stories and examples from Native communities as well as modifying the literacy level to make complex issues such as genetics more understandable. Although cultural issues vary greatly among the 565 federally recognized tribal Nations, some concerns, such as use of specimens for a single study rather than storage in a repository, are common and were included in the revised content. Revisions expanded the presentation time for each revised module to ~90 minutes each. Excerpts of the 3 modules were implemented with 100 Native American young professionals and community members during early spring 2012. Learning increased from pre- to post workshop assessment for each of the 3 culturally appropriate workshops.