Abstract CN08-04: Using community-based participatory research to develop and evaluate communication strategies for cancer prevention
Authors: Halbert Chanita Hughes 
Published: May 2012

Despite the development and implementation of health promotion and prevention programs, African Americans continue to experience high rates of morbidity and mortality from cancer. Active community engagement in research is being recognized as a critical component of accurate and credible science that is essential for ensuring that research addresses the needs of communities and populations at risk for poorer outcomes. However, active community involvement in the development, implementation, and evaluation of health promotion and preventive strategies has been limited. To address this issue, we developed an academic-community partnership called the West Philadelphia Consortium to Address Disparities. This partnership consists of four community-based organizations in Philadelphia and academic researchers and staff at the University of Pennsylvania. Consistent with the principles of community-based participatory research (CBPR), the partnership focuses on facilitating active collaboration between community and academic members in three key areas: (1) identification of the health priorities and concerns of African American residents in the West and Southwest Philadelphia community, (2) development and evaluation of interventions to address community concerns related to health promotion and disease prevention, and (3) communication of results and cancer information to community residents. Through a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, our research has demonstrated that cancer, cardiovascular disease, and risk factors (e.g., diet, physical activity, obesity) for these conditions are among the health concerns identified by African American residents. Through a collaborative approach grounded in CBPR, we developed an integrated risk education program to address these concerns. In a preliminary evaluation of the program, we determined if participants were representative of community residents in terms of sociodemographic factors and evaluated rates of program participation. We found that of 156 eligible individuals, 137 (88%) enrolled in the study. The rate for participating in risk counseling (74%) equaled the number of program acceptors (n=101) divided by the total number of individuals who enrolled in the study (n=137). Consistent with the characteristics of community residents, our sample included more females than males and the proportion of men and women who participated in risk counseling was consistent with the percentage of male and female residents. In addition, a comparable proportion of risk counseling participants were not married relative to community residents. However, our sample included a greater proportion of individuals who only had a high school education relative to community residents. In terms of health-related outcomes, integrated risk education did not increase motivations to change preventive behaviors, but improved self-efficacy for diet and physical activity behaviors. Our findings underscore the importance of actively involving community stakeholders in the development, implementation, and evaluation of health promotion and prevention efforts.

Citation Information: Cancer Prev Res 2010;3(1 Suppl):CN08-04.