Abstract B029: Partnering with an urban public recreation system to implement Total Wellness, a cancer prevention intervention
Authors: Riegel Devon C. , Kwarteng Jamila L. , Pinsoneault Laura , Prado AnaKaren Manriquez , Contreras Sandra , Aboagye Sophia , Wasserman Erica , Donlevy Derek , Visotcky Alexis , Sheean Patricia , Tovar Margaret , Jensik Kathleen , Vidaver Regina , Stolley Melinda R. 
Published: January 2023

Introduction Cancer is a leading cause of death in Wisconsin, with higher mortality rates in African American (AA) and Hispanic (Hisp) populations. Focus groups with community members highlighted interest in programming to increase cancer awareness and support healthy behaviors. With this goal in mind and in partnership with the Milwaukee Recreation System (MKE Rec), Total Wellness (TW) was created to provide programming to Milwaukee communities. We present a program description and preliminary results for implementation of TW. Methods TW program content was informed by the American Cancer Society Guidelines and community feedback through surveys and discussion sessions. TW is a 16-week program implemented over two 8-week sessions (TW 1.0, 2.0) led by instructors trained in cancer prevention and lifestyle change. The program meets 2x weekly: Class 1 is a 30-min cancer and lifestyle education session targeting a weekly topic (wks 6, 10 include cooking demo), followed by a 60-min exercise class; Class 2 is a 60-min exercise class. TW is listed as a wellness class in the MKE Rec program guide. To promote enrollment, TW was advertised on MKE Rec’s website and social media, and program ads were distributed to zip codes of predominantly AA and Hisp neighborhoods. Once registered, participants were invited to complete an evaluation to assess program impact. Evaluation completion was not required to enroll in the class. TW is being evaluated at a systems level (i.e., # of registrants and # of instructors trained) and at an individual level (i.e., cancer awareness, health behaviors, fitness). Results At the systems level, 3 instructors were trained (2 are bilingual English/Spanish, 1 English only). The first TW 1.0 class began in January 2022 at a MKE Rec facility within a predominantly AA neighborhood and enrolled to capacity. In March 2022, a new TW 1.0 session at the same site enrolled to capacity, and 66% from the premiere TW 1.0 class re-enrolled for TW 2.0. Going forward, MKE Rec will offer TW 1.0 and 2.0 each season at the first site. In June 2022, MKE Rec began a TW 1.0 Spanish language class, the first of its kind, at a new site in a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood. At the individual level, 22 of 30 enrollees consented to participate in the evaluation. Participants are a mean age of 45.81 yrs; 72.7% are Black/African American, 22.7% White, 10.5% Hispanic/Latino, and 4.5% American Indian/Alaska Native (&gt;100% ethnicity includes mixed-race participants). Most participants are employed full-time with varied education, marital status, and incomes. 57.1% of participants report HTN, 28.6% hyperlipidemia, and 54.5% obesity (mean BMI 35.25). 28.5% were current/former tobacco users, and 57.2% were insufficiently physically active. Given ongoing data collection, pre- and post-intervention changes have not yet been analyzed. Conclusion Though still in its early stages, TW has shown success in being integrated into MKE Rec and reaching AA and Hisp communities. Future reports will demonstrate program efficacy and sustainability.

Citation Format: Devon C. Riegel, Jamila L. Kwarteng, Laura Pinsoneault, AnaKaren Manriquez Prado, Sandra Contreras, Sophia Aboagye, Erica Wasserman, Derek Donlevy, Alexis Visotcky, Patricia Sheean, Margaret Tovar, Kathleen Jensik, Regina Vidaver, Melinda R. Stolley. Partnering with an urban public recreation system to implement Total Wellness, a cancer prevention intervention [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 B029.