Abstract C76: Developing an online resource for lung cancer screening in a frontier population
Authors: Leberknight Jennifer , Sargent Michele , Cina Kristin , O'Connor Margaret , Tobacco Romaine , Ahamed Sheikh Iqbal , Petereit Daniel , Burhansstipanov Linda 
Published: February 2019

Objective: To develop an online resource for lung cancer screening, to be used by both primary care providers and high-risk individuals in western South Dakota. Western South Dakota is considered a frontier population with lower-than-average access to medical care and American Indians comprising 20% of the population. This population experiences cancer health disparities for many reasons including geographic isolation, poverty, fragmented health care, and cultural barriers.

Methods: The online resource was pilot tested among six focus groups (25 primary care providers and 21 individuals) and was developed to target the specific needs of the high-risk frontier population in western South Dakota. Focus group participants were asked to comment on content, understandability, visual appeal, geographic and cultural relevance, and usability. The focus group input was gathered using both notes and audio recordings, and their recommendations informed the resource development.

Results: The project developed a comprehensive lung cancer screening online resource with both regionally and culturally appropriate content, including information about the ceremonial use of tobacco. The online resource includes information on lung cancer screening guidelines, screening referrals, billing codes, and smoking cessation. In addition, the focus groups recommended adding more basic information, such as: what is a low-dose computed axial tomography scan (LDCT), why is it recommended over chest x-rays, and how does one determine a pack-year smoking history? Both providers and individual members of the focus groups expressed the desire to have this online resource along with lung cancer screening education available to them.

Conclusions: This project developed an online resource for all-inclusive, comprehensive information about lung health and lung cancer screening for use by both primary care providers and individuals. The project was completed in March 2017, with community stakeholders strongly endorsing the online resource. The Walking Forward team has since proposed a multilevel intervention study using the online resource developed by this project, as well as lung cancer screening education to investigate whether provider and/or individual level interventions will increase lung cancer screening among high-risk smokers living in this understudied, underserved frontier population (R01 submission).

Citation Format: Jennifer Leberknight, Michele Sargent, Kristin Cina, Margaret O'Connor, Romaine Tobacco, Sheikh Iqbal Ahamed, Daniel Petereit, Linda Burhansstipanov. Developing an online resource for lung cancer screening in a frontier population [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Tenth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2017 Sep 25-28; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2018;27(7 Suppl):Abstract nr C76.