Abstract PR-19: Impact of a cancer health education curriculum among Milwaukee public high school students
Authors: Kerschner Abigail , Jensik Kathleen , Mathias Anne , Berg Dakota , Visotcky Alexis , Stolley Melinda 
Published: January 2022

Purpose and background: The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of a Cancer Health Education Curriculum (CHEC) on students' cancer knowledge, cancer fear and fatalism, risk behaviors, and frequency of communication about cancer with family/friends. This curriculum was integrated into a Milwaukee public high school where over 80% of students are Hispanic, African American, or Asian. In Milwaukee and nationwide, there are notably higher rates of cancer incidence, late-stage diagnosis, and mortality among racial/ethnic populations. Cancer education has the potential to impact cancer burden and possibly address some of these cancer disparities. In particular, the addition of a service-learning component to academic curriculums has been shown to improve student learning as well as positively impact the surrounding community. Methods: The CHEC was integrated into the high school health course and took place over four-to-five weeks of a semester. It included one week of interactive learning sessions that focused on cancer biology, modifiable and unmodifiable cancer risk factors, social determinants of health, cancer disparities, screening, and early detection. In the following weeks, students completed research that culminated in a service-learning project (i.e., presenting at a student health fair, creating a public service announcement, or disseminating a cancer-related educational message to family/friends). Students also completed pre- and post-surveys that assessed cancer knowledge, fear and fatalism beliefs, risk behaviors, frequency of communication about cancer with family/friends, and a qualitative question asking what they hoped to gain/did gain from the course. Results: Since 2017, over 600 students of various population groups (50% black/AA, 18% Hispanic/Latino, 14% Asian, 8% non-Hispanic white, 10% other) have participated in the CHEC, and over 900 family and community members have attended the cancer health fairs and other education outreach efforts. Results indicate: 1) a significant improvement in cancer knowledge (p&lt; 0.0001), 2) a significant decrease in cancer fear and fatalism (p&lt;0.0001), 3) a significant increase in fruit consumption (p&lt;0.0001), 4) a decrease in screen time (p&lt;0.0001), and 5) an increase in how often students spoke with their family about cancer (p&lt;0.0001). Qualitative data from the students reflect important gains such as an interest in sharing their new knowledge about cancer with their community and a sense of empowerment that they can do something to prevent cancer. Conclusion: Providing cancer education within an existing course and leveraging a service-learning requirement to provide students with the opportunity to teach others leads to notable changes in high school students. These changes include increased cancer knowledge, decreased cancer fear and fatalism, a decrease in certain cancer risk behaviors, and an increase in conversations with family/friends about cancer. Future studies could examine the impact of these conversations on screening rates and health behaviors in family members.

Citation Format: Abigail Kerschner, Kathleen Jensik, Anne Mathias, Dakota Berg, Alexis Visotcky, Melinda Stolley. Impact of a cancer health education curriculum among Milwaukee public high school students [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Virtual Conference: 14th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2021 Oct 6-8. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2022;31(1 Suppl):Abstract nr PR-19.