Impact of Spanish language cancer education in the community

The Pennsylvania Cancer Education Network, a PA Department of Health program, provides education to the public on colorectal, prostate, skin and ovarian cancers. In response to the burgeoning Spanish-speaking population, Fox Chase Cancer Center developed the Spanish-Language programs and a bilingual, bicultural health educator implemented the program in eight counties. Challenges include: limited literacy and an inability to read and write in Spanish. Therefore, the pre/posttests are read out loud, survey questions are explained and staff provides assistance to help participants. The presenter must be reassuring since participants often ask; who are you? Why are you here? Are you coming back? Why do you need this information? Will the information I give be shared with immigration? The health educator encourages them to speak up and ask questions and to take information home to share with family and friends. Using a cross-sectional pretest-posttest design, we evaluated participants' knowledge, attitudes, and intention to screen, before and after the group session. The cohort included 1141 cancer education participants. A little more than half of the participants were female (57%, n=653). The participants were almost evenly divided by age (around 20% for each age group of under 50, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, and over 65 years). Almost all participants had only a high school diploma (99%,n=1126). A little less than half of the participants reported that they had healthcare coverage (47%,n=534). On all four cancer topics, participants increased their knowledge, behavioral intention to screen and decreased their worry about the pain/embarrassment of the tests.