141st APHA Annual Meeting

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290015
Cheers to your health: Educating Iowans 50+ about colorectal cancer screening through drink coasters

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Victoria Brenton , Bureau of Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Management, Iowa Department of Public Health, Des Moines, IA
Jeanna Jones, BS , Bureau of Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Management, Iowa Department of Public Health, Des Moines, IA
Kellee McCrory, MPH , School of Social Work, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
Jenny Hodges, BS, CHES , Bureau of Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Management, Iowa Department of Public Health, Des Moines, IA
Small town bars are ubiquitous in Iowa, people meet to socialize and relax and share information about schools, sports and local activities. The Iowa Department of Public Health developed and disseminated coasters delivering colorectal cancer screening facts, trivia and an invitation for Iowans 50+ to get screened for Colorectal Cancer (CRC) to bars in Iowa. The Iowa Get Screened (IGS) Colorectal Cancer program website, 1-800 line, and a CRC-related trivia question were also on each coaster. The campaign was piloted in two rural and two urban sites prior to the statewide rollout. Bars were recruited through community advocates. Pilot sites received a letter inviting them to participate and explained the importance of educating Iowans about colorectal cancer. The pilot ran for two-weeks and participating bars took pre and post-tests to measure program success. The program evaluator interviewed all pilot sites and qualitative results indicated coasters spurred conversations about screening amongst patrons and bartenders.

The campaign expanded to 22 additional sites statewide. These sites were strategically selected by targeting counties who identified the need to increase colon cancer screenings in their Community Health Needs Assessment. The coaster campaign ran December 15 through February 28, 2013. Press releases were prepared and disseminated to newspapers in campaign sites to inform communities about the campaign, promote the partnership between the Iowa Department of Public Health and local bars, and highlight the commitment of the local bars to the campaign and the health of their patrons.

Learning Areas:
Administer health education strategies, interventions and programs
Advocacy for health and health education
Assessment of individual and community needs for health education
Chronic disease management and prevention
Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs

Learning Objectives:
Design a local-level project to bring together state and county agencies with community partners. Demonstrate a creative way to promote colorectal cancer education to unique communities. Identify achievable and measurable outcomes to create a sustainable project.

Keywords: Cancer Prevention, Community-Based Health Promotion

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: N/A

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am qualified to present on this topic because I currently implement and manage colorectal cancer programs and activities in Iowa. Specifically, my team and I created, disseminated, and evaluated a local level colorectal cancer education project that reached unique communities in Iowa. I have a long history of collaborating with leading experts from Iowa’s universities who have focused their work on creating health messages to unique communities and populations in Iowa.
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.