Abstract A41: Public health students assess the cultural adaptation of Cancer 101 curriculum for Puerto Rican community
Authors: Rivera Yonaira M. , Canales Jorge E. , Vélez Himilce , Jiménez Julio , Muñoz-Antonia Teresita , Torres Jose A. , Quinn Gwendolyn P. 
Published: October 2015

Introduction: Cancer is the leading cause of death in Puerto Rico (PR).1 Results from previous pilot projects, led by the NCI-funded Ponce School of Medicine - Moffitt Cancer Center Partnership (PSM-MCC Partnership), identified a need for additional cancer prevention education in southern PR.2,3 Cancer 101 is an NCI-funded educational curriculum designed to improve cancer education in the community.4 Consisting of 10 modules, it has been reported to increase cancer knowledge, attitudes, and cancer control activities in several populations5,6 and was selected as a “train-the-trainer” tool to train PSM Public Health (PH) students to deliver cancer education in Ponce, PR. The Spanish version of the curriculum was adapted for the population in PR by using an expert panel to collaboratively review each module and identify specific changes to content and cultural translation components, ensuring the adaptation is culturally and literacy-level appropriate and represents PR's social context.7 The purpose of this study was to pilot test the adapted Cancer 101 curriculum with students enrolled in the PSM PH Program.

Methods: Master-level students (n=10) from the PSM PH Program were recruited to participate in a two-day cognitive debriefing session to discuss the adapted Cancer 101 curriculum. Students received the adapted curriculum prior to the session and were asked to prepare a 15 minute presentation (charla) on an assigned module, using the provided materials (module and accompanying PowerPoint slides). Each charla was presented for group discussion, and a content analysis of the results was performed to assess each module's comprehensibility, functionality, utility, and satisfaction.8

Results: Participants were satisfied with the overall curriculum, in the areas of comprehensibility of covered cancer education topics; ease of use; and appropriateness of resources included to effectively deliver charlas in PR. However, some modules were more complex than others, and some PowerPoint presentations needed to be better tailored to the PR community. General cancer information, prevention, screening and survivorship modules had the highest satisfaction and were deemed the most useful in providing culturally relevant information for the educator, as well as appropriate presentation content. While modules discussing PR cancer statistics, diagnosis, and treatment were also highly informative, students stated accompanying presentations needed improvements to effectively educate their community. Finally, students stated the cancer genetics and biobanking modules were the most difficult to comprehend and were not appropriate for all PR communities.

Conclusion: Students' assessment of the adapted Cancer 101 curriculum identified specific strengths and weaknesses for each module, ensuring its adaptation is culturally relevant and meets intended goals and objectives. Next steps include making the recommended changes to the curriculum and developing a Cancer 101 training program for MPH students enrolled at the PSM PH Program to effectively deliver cancer education in the community. The availability of well-designed and culturally appropriate materials, accompanied by the development of a Cancer 101 training program, will assist efforts to disseminate cancer information and increase knowledge and attitudes about cancer prevention, early detection, treatment, and research in southern PR.

Citation Format: Yonaira M. Rivera, Jorge E. Canales, Himilce Vélez, Julio Jiménez, Teresita Muñoz-Antonia, Jose A. Torres, Gwendolyn P. Quinn. Public health students assess the cultural adaptation of Cancer 101 curriculum for Puerto Rican community. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Seventh AACR Conference on The Science of Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; Nov 9-12, 2014; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2015;24(10 Suppl):Abstract nr A41.