Abstract A062: Utilizing Inside Knowledge materials to improve gynecologic cancer knowledge in underserved populations
Authors: Puckett Mary C. , Townsend Julie S. , Patterson Jenny R. , Wanliss Ena , Stewart Sherri L. 
Published: August 2020

Background: About 30,000 women die each year from gynecologic cancer in the U.S., which disproportionately affects women from underserved populations. To improve gynecologic cancer awareness and outcomes, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Inside Knowledge: Get the Facts about Gynecologic Cancer (IK) campaign was developed and educates women about risk factors, symptoms, recommended screening, and prevention strategies for ovarian, uterine, cervical, vaginal, and vulvar cancers. CDC also funds a network of national organizations to specifically reduce cancer-related health disparities.

Methods: We fostered a partnership between three organizations in CDC's cancer disparity reducing national network consortium and the IK campaign to deliver tailored educational sessions using IK materials. The National Behavioral Health Network (NBHN), which helps those with mental illnesses and addictions; Nuestras Voces (NV), which helps Hispanics; and the Selfmade, which helps those of low socioeconomic status, participated in this study. These organizations administered pre- and post-session surveys to assess changes in gynecologic cancer knowledge.

Results: Overall, 125 women participated in six educational sessions held by NBHN, NV, and Selfmade. NBHN session attendees had significantly increased knowledge that smoking increases risk for cervical cancer (78.1% pre-session vs. 94.6% post-session). NV session attendees significantly increased their awareness of never having given birth/infertility as a risk factor for ovarian cancer (16.7% pre-session and 42.1% post-session). Among SHM attendees, 100% correctly identified family history as a risk factor for ovarian cancer, and significantly more participants correctly identified Ashkenazi Jewish background as an ovarian cancer risk factor (18.2% pre-session vs. 79.4% post-session). Knowledge about HPV vaccine prevention for cervical, vaginal, and vulvar cancers was significantly increased among only NV and Selfmade attendees (54.6% pre-session vs. 82.1% post-session and 30.3% pre-session vs. 85.7% post-session, respectively. Attendees in all sessions increased correct identification of some gynecologic cancer symptoms, but specific changes varied by organization.

Conclusions: Holding facilitated educational sessions with IK materials was effective in increasing awareness of gynecologic cancer among many women across organizations participating in this study; however, uptake of information differed by organization. Additional resources that contain specific interventions most appropriate to a particular underserved population (e.g., receipt of HPV vaccine among Hispanic women) may be beneficial for increasing healthy behaviors that lead to a reduction in gynecologic cancer disparities.

Citation Format: Mary C. Puckett, Julie S. Townsend, Jenny R. Patterson, Ena Wanliss, Sherri L. Stewart. Utilizing Inside Knowledge materials to improve gynecologic cancer knowledge in underserved populations [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Eleventh AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2018 Nov 2-5; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2020;29(6 Suppl):Abstract nr A062.