Colorectal Cancer Knowledge and Screening Change in African Americans: Implementation Phase Results of the EPICS...

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Disparities
• Cancer Prevention

Background:

• African Americans experience disproportionately high colorectal cancer mortality rates.
• Effective educational strategies are needed to improve colorectal cancer screening (CRC) uptake in this population.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the effectiveness of four educational approaches in increasing CRC screening among African Americans.
• To identify factors associated with successful CRC screening uptake.

Main Methods:

• A cluster randomized trial involving 2,877 adults compared website access and in-person training, with and without technical assistance.
• Participants were randomized into four intervention arms.
• Colorectal cancer screening was assessed three months post-intervention.

Main Results:

• In-person training, with or without technical assistance, significantly increased the odds of CRC screening compared to website access with technical assistance.
• Post-intervention cancer knowledge significantly improved among participants.
• Sociodemographic factors were not significantly associated with screening uptake.

Conclusions:

• In-person educational interventions, leveraging local coalitions and community contexts, are effective in increasing CRC screening rates among African Americans.
• Further research is needed to compare the efficacy of in-person versus virtual interventions in the post-COVID-19 era.