Abstract
Objectives: To assess and identify barriers that prohibit African Americans from participating in colorectal cancer screening.
Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cause of malignancy-related death. As African Americans are disproportionally affected, experts recommend African Americans complete screening at the age of 45. However, screening inconsistencies within this community continue to persist.
Methods: 17 African Americans aged 45-75 participated in a culturally tailored educational intervention to increase knowledge, attitudes, and practice of CRC. Participants completed a pre and post-intervention questionnaire assessing these domains regarding screening. Paired T-tests were used to examine differences in knowledge and attitudes before and after.
Results: African American participants included 2 males and 15 females aged 45-75 years who immigrated from Haiti. There was a statistically significant increase in knowledge after the educational intervention (20.17±3.3 versus 23.94±0.24; p <.001); however, the change in attitude after the intervention was not significant (3.00 ±0.79 versus 3.11± 0.78; p <.001). Regarding the practice of CRC screening 100% of participants have thought about undergoing screening. Although, 64.7% of participants have never completed early screening, and 23.5% of participants complete colorectal cancer screening at least once a year.
Conclusion: A culturally tailored educational intervention on CRC screening can effectively increase knowledge regarding screening.