Abstract A099: Black church-goers who most recently sought cancer information from certain sources are less likely to have ever undergone colorectal cancer screening and thus less likely to benefit from early detection
Authors: Carter Brian J. , Chen Tzuan A. , Cho Dalnim , McNeill Lorna H. , Connors Shahnjayla K. , Reitzel Lorraine R. 
Published: January 2023

Purpose: Black adults have the highest colorectal cancer (CRC) incidence and mortality rates of any racial group in America. Early detection through CRC screening may improve survival outcomes; however, CRC screening uptake is lower for Black adults than White adults. To uncover opportunities to address these inequities, we examine where Black adults prefer to obtain cancer information, where they most recently sought such information, and whether either was associated with CRC screening behavior. Methods: Participants were a convenience sample of Black men and women recruited from 3 churches in Houston, Texas. Self-reported data included preferred source of cancer information (doctor or health care provider (collectively, “providers”), cancer organization, social network, internet, or “other media” (i.e., books, brochures, pamphlets, the library, magazines, newspapers)), most recent source of cancer information (same categories as preferred), and having ever been screened for CRC. A logistic regression model controlling for recruitment site, sociodemographic variables (e.g., sex, education), personal and family history of cancer, worries and perceptions about cancer risk, and satisfaction with patient-provider communication examined associations between preferred and most recent source of cancer information, respectively, and CRC screening behavior. Results: The sample included 751 Black adults aged &gt;50 (Mage=59.1+6.6, 24% male), with data collected before the pandemic. Overall, 57.9% of respondents indicated their preferred source of cancer information was a provider, 19.6% the internet, 11.5% other media, 10% a cancer organization, and 1.1% their social network. Overall, 21% indicated their most recent source of cancer information was a provider, 57.3% the internet, 13.5% other media, 4.7% a cancer organization, and 3.6% their social network. About 83.6% of participants had ever been screened for CRC. Results indicated that those who most recently sought information from other media had lower odds of having ever been screened for CRC than those who most recently sought information from a provider (aOR: 0.489, CI95%: 0.245-0.976). There were no significant associations between preferred source of cancer information and CRC screening behavior. Conclusion: These results reveal an opportunity to encourage Black church-goers to obtain cancer information from providers rather than from other media as a method to enhance CRC screening use. Encouragement to seek this information directly from a provider could, for example, come from health ministries, church newsletter or email communications, the church’s website, and/or the pulpit. These results also reveal an opportunity to investigate what modifiable social determinants or other factors prevent Black church-goers from seeking cancer screening information from their provider as opposed to other media, especially considering most of the sample preferred to get this information from a provider, as one part of a multi-pronged approach to help mitigate racial inequities in CRC screening behavior.

Citation Format: Brian J. Carter, Tzuan A. Chen, Dalnim Cho, Lorna H. McNeill, Shahnjayla K. Connors, Lorraine R. Reitzel. Black church-goers who most recently sought cancer information from certain sources are less likely to have ever undergone colorectal cancer screening and thus less likely to benefit from early detection [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 15th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2022 Sep 16-19; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2022;31(1 Suppl):Abstract nr A099.