Abstract A028: Exploring Asian Indian and Pakistani views about cancer and participation in research: An evaluation of a culturally tailored educational intervention
Authors: Giri Veda N. , Selvan Preethi , Mohanty Salini , Lum Ray , Serrao Samantha , Leader Amy E. 
Published: August 2020

Background: Asian Indians and Pakistanis (AIP) are a growing population in the United States (US), and cancer is a leading cause of mortality in this population. Cancer screening rates among AIP populations in the US remain low compared to other racial and ethnic groups. In addition, AIP adults have been historically under-represented in clinical research and reasons are largely unexplored.

Methods: We delivered a culturally tailored educational intervention to improve knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions about cancer risk and preventive screening measures to AIP adults in the Philadelphia area. Participants of AIP descent, ages 18 and older, were recruited during an evening celebration at a local community center. The intervention, an oral presentation, was delivered by a physician of AIP descent with expertise in clinical cancer genetics. The presentation focused on screening measures and applicable genetic tests for breast, prostate, and colon cancers based on family history and individualized risk factors. Participants were assessed before (pre), immediately after (post), and 1 month following the presentation (follow-up) for changes in knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of cancer risk and risk assessments. Data were analyzed for means, frequencies, and differences in means from baseline to endpoint and baseline to follow-up using SPSS. Only those who completed all three assessments were included in analysis.

Results: Twenty-three participants, 12 female and 10 male participants (1 not reported) of AIP descent, averaging 46 years of age, completed the study. All participants were born in India and had been living in the US for an average of 20 years. Most (n=13) preferred the English language when discussing medical material, while a few (n=3) preferred another language. While there was no significant improvement in overall knowledge or knowledge of screening timelines for prostate and colon cancers, participants showed a significant change in understanding of when screening for breast cancer should begin (p&lt;0.05). Pre- to post-intervention knowledge regarding genetic mutations (p&lt;0.05) and genetic testing (p&lt;0.05) was also improved. Lastly, participants were more willing to talk to their family members about cancer (p&lt;0.05), participate in a medical research study (p&lt;0.01), and undergo genetic testing for cancer risk assessment (p&lt;0.001) after exposure to the intervention.

Discussion: The intervention increased specific aspects of knowledge, willingness to participate in cancer research and risk assessments, and willingness to talk about cancer among AIP adults. This suggests that culturally tailored educational interventions, delivered in community settings, can be influential for this population. The efficacy of this research could be tested in a future randomized controlled trial with longer-term follow-up for sustained impact along with the collection of data regarding the uptake of cancer screening services post-intervention.

Citation Format: Veda N. Giri, Preethi Selvan, Salini Mohanty, Ray Lum, Samantha Serrao, Amy E. Leader. Exploring Asian Indian and Pakistani views about cancer and participation in research: An evaluation of a culturally tailored educational intervention [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 A028.