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

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.