Abstract A27: Using community theater to educate the underserved about cancer screening and prevention
Authors: Rochon Donna , Porto Lidia , McLaughlin Robert , Waters Vicki , Rustveld Luis , Jibaja-Weiss Maria L. 
Published: June 2012

Background: In an effort to engage the lay community around issues related to colorectal and cervical cancer prevention and screening, we formed the Community Network for Cancer Prevention Forum Theater Project, a three-year funded program bringing together collaborators from several disciplines. The goal of the project is to foster communication and understanding of colorectal and cervical cancer risks and prevention strategies among target populations by discovering and addressing barriers to care. This will be accomplished by using an interactive form of community theater in a campaign that addresses health disparities and inequities. Drawing on a method that creates theater in direct collaboration with the community, we are using Forum Theater as a platform for developing colorectal and cervical cancer screening messages to be communicated at performances.

Experimental Procedures: As part of the project, we have trained the first group of Community Health Workers (CHWs) to implement the theater project in Spanish-speaking Hispanic communities. The training took place once a week for seven weeks, with 16 people in attendance. A faculty member from the School of Allied Health conducted the first session, which was an evidence-based cervical and colorectal cancer content session; another faculty member from the School of Allied Health attended most of the sessions not only as an expert on behavioral psychology but as a participant in the Forum Theater training. The remaining six weeks focused in depth on Forum Theater methods and techniques, such as trust exercises, improvisation, building dramatic scenes, rehearsal techniques, maintaining effective dramatic flow, and encouraging audience participation. Throughout the training, participants developed their skills for addressing barriers and myths related to cancer screening and prevention, as well as how to address these issues with community members. Once CHWs are trained, their tasks are to identify and coordinate locations for performances, encourage participation from the communities that they serve, and to facilitate the production of linguistically and culturally appropriate performances.

Expected Results and Conclusions: All of the participants completed a pre-post knowledge and attitudes survey of the content session and a self-administered questionnaire at the end of the seven weeks of training. Results of the pre-post tests indicate that the content session was effective in increasing knowledge levels and improving attitudes about the efficacy of screening and prevention for underserved populations. Findings from the questionnaire, which asked about leadership confidence, skill development, self-efficacy, and satisfaction with the program, suggest that the training program provided CHWs with the necessary tools to implement a successful community theater program for cancer prevention and screening.

Citation Information: Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2011;20(10 Suppl):A27.