Abstract A13: Developing easy-to-read cancer education curriculum materials for the Appalachian population: The power of community collaboration
Authors: Reese David R. , Conn Mary Ellen 
Published: October 2015

Appalachian and rural populations historically have been subject to health disparities due to factors of lack of access to care and services, poverty, and low education. The Appalachia Community Cancer Network (ACCN) is one of 23 Community Networks Program Centers funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and addresses the cancer disparity issues of the Appalachian population in Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. ACCN is a collaboration of academic and community partners involved in increasing cancer awareness and education, conducting community-based participatory research, and creating mentoring and training opportunities for junior researchers. All ACCN projects and initiatives are informed by regional and program-wide community advisory boards to ensure that the work being done is culturally relevant and sensitive to the needs of rural and medically underserved audiences. Examples of how advisory boards and community partners are utilized include providing review and feedback on cancer educational materials, assistance with recruitment of faith-based partners and participants in research projects, and clinical trials awareness programs.

Responding to a request by its community coalitions to develop a tool with easier to read basic cancer information for use with people who are traditionally hard to engage, ACCN developed Undertanding Cancer. This collaborative work is a five-chapter resource that includes not only text, but a glossary of terms, pre- and post-survey assessments, lists of resources, Power Point slides, and a CD-ROM with all of the materials. The modules have been carefully and exclusively adapted from NCI resources and tailored for use in the rural Appalachian culture. All of the materials were pilot tested with the ACCN Community Advisory Committee and regional Advisory Boards in Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia.

This train-the-trainer curriculum was evaluated by rolling it out across five states with the goal of training at least 150 trainers. A pre/post-test model was used to measure a change in knowledge. Additionally changes in attitudes and behaviors were assessed for all participants using participant information forms, evaluations, healthy changes checklist, and trainer activity reports.

The usefulness of this community-based project is in being designed to help partners use the modules creatively and effectively in different community settings. This session will focus on the development of the resource, as well as the dissemination and evaluation, and lessons learned. An unexpected outcome of the training curriculum is the community's response to needing additional resources that are similar in design and structure of the orignal resource but focused on specific cancer sites and in other formats besides Power Point slides. The result is the development of a companion piece, Understanding Colon Cancer, which is available as a table-top flip chart or Power Point slides. Dissemination and evaluation of Understanding Colon Cancer is ongoing at this time.

This poster session would be beneficial for anyone planning to develop easy-to-read cancer education materials.

Acknowledgements: Appalachia Community Cancer Network (ACCN), Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center, West Virginia University, ACCN Community Advisory Committee and regional Community Advisory Boards.

Inspiration for this publication is credited to Cancer 101: A Cancer Education Training Program for American Indians and Alaska Natives.

Citation Format: David R. Reese, Mary Ellen Conn. Developing easy-to-read cancer education curriculum materials for the Appalachian population: The power of community collaboration. [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 A13.