Abstract B009: ¡Salud!, por la Vida, an educational intervention to increase colorectal cancer screening in Puerto Ricans
Authors: Colón-López Vivian , Vélez-Alamo Camille , Acevedo-Fontanez Adrianna , Soto-Salgado Marievelisse , Rodríguez-Lebrón Jorge L , Llavona-Ortiz Josheili Y , Serra-Martínez Yolanda , Valencia-Torres Ileska , Fernández María 
Published: September 2020

From 2010-2014, colorectal cancer (CRC) was the second highest incident cancer and leading cause of cancer-related deaths in Puerto Rico (PR). Although preventable through screening and treatment, colorectal cancer screening (CRCS) using fecal occult blood test (FOBT) or colonoscopy remains low for adults in PR. Data from the 2016 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System indicated that 18.0% of the PR population aged 50 to 75 had undergone an FOBT within the past year compared to 8.0% in the United States (US). Additionally, 50.1% of age-eligible Puerto Ricans report ever having a colonoscopy in the past 10 years compared to 63.5% in the US. Given the higher burden of CRC and the low CRCS rates in PR, we developed ¡Salud!, por la Vida (SPLV), an educational program which aims to increase CRCS in non-adherent men and women aged 50 and 75 who attend Federally Qualified Health Clinics (FQHCs) in PR. We used Intervention Mapping (IM) as framework to develop an educational intervention that is theoretically sound and grounded in evidence. For the development of SPLV, steps 1 to 4 of IM were completed. Step 1: a needs assessment conducted through focus groups and key informant interviews to gather quantitative and qualitative data for the development of the logic model and the program; step 2: development of a logic model of change and matrices of change objectives; step 3: selection of theory and evidence-based methods and strategies; and step 4: program production, components, and materials. Step 1 revealed 5 main themes: (1) lack of knowledge about CRC and CRCS practices; (2) patient’s fear of the CRC test results; (3) low risk perception of CRC; (4) lack of provider CRCS recommendation; and (5) the importance of social support. Interviews revealed that the majority of clinics offer FOBT as part of their CRCS protocol; where 74.0% of these had a clinical laboratory on-site. Over half (53.0%) had implemented electronic medical records and 82.0% had health educators on staff. A logic model was developed by combining personal behaviors with behavioral determinants and identifying beliefs targeted by the intervention (step 2). Tailored interactive multimedia intervention (TIMI) and small media were selected as the practical application to deliver the intervention (step 3). Development of the program included 5 components: script development; testimonials; animations; written materials; and newsletter. Pre-testing was conducted to evaluate the usability of the program. Our educational program, SPLV, is completed and currently being implemented, using a randomized trial. Trial is being conducted in 10 FQHCs and will recruit 710 participants aged 50 to 75 who have no prior history of CRC and are not adherent to CRCS guidelines. Clinics are randomized to either the intervention group (TIMI) or the control group (usual care). We aim that this intervention will significantly increase CRCS rates and provide evidence to disseminate this educational effort to FQHCs in PR.

Citation Format: Vivian Colón-López, Camille Vélez-Alamo, Adrianna Acevedo-Fontanez, Marievelisse Soto-Salgado, Jorge L Rodríguez-Lebrón, Josheili Y Llavona-Ortiz, Yolanda Serra-Martínez, Ileska Valencia-Torres, María Fernández. ¡Salud!, por la Vida, an educational intervention to increase colorectal cancer screening in Puerto Ricans [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Twelfth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2019 Sep 20-23; San Francisco, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2020;29(6 Suppl_2):Abstract nr B009.