| Name | Safa Ibrahim |
| Institution | Hunter College, City University of New York |
| Research Field | Population Research |
| Role at Institution | Community Outreach Coordinator |
| Presenter(s) | Safa Ibrahim |
A Community-Based Screening Intervention to Improve Colorectal Cancer Education for Underserved African American, Asian American, and Hispanic American Communities in New York City
Safa Ibrahim, BA, Laura Figueroa, BA; Ellen Kim, PhD; Lin Zhu, PhD; Steven Zhu; Nathaly Rubio-Torio, LMSW; Evelyn González, MA; Marilyn A Fraser, MD; Ming-Chin Yeh, PhD; Yin Tan, MD, MPH
1Department of Biological Sciences, and Department of Psychology, Hunter College, City University of New York, New York, NY
2Department of Sociology, College of Liberal Arts, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
3Center for Asian health, Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
4NY-Presbyterian-Lower Manhattan Hospital, New York, NY
5Fox Chase Cancer Center, Temple Health, Philadelphia, PA
6Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health, Brooklyn, NY
7Nutrition Program, Hunter College, City University of New York, New York, NY
Background: In the United States, colorectal cancer is expected to contribute to approximately 52,580 deaths in 2022. It is known as the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths amongst women and men, and the second most common cause of cancer-related deaths for men and women combined. It is estimated that African Americans are 40% more likely to die from colorectal cancer than most other racial groups. Amongst Asian Americans, colorectal cancer is the second most common cause of cancer in the United States. Hispanic have significant rates of mortality and are disproportionally affected by colorectal cancer. In New York City, it is estimated that 1,100 adults will die from colon cancer and over 3,500 New Yorkers are newly diagnosed.
Methods: Our project focused on collaborating and working closely with community-based organizations (CBOs) in New York City by using a community-based participatory research method (CBPR). The CBOs were involved in material development, staff training, and community co-delivery of education to increase awareness of colorectal cancer prevention and screening in New York City. A total of 291 African American, Hispanic American, and Asian American community members were recruited from collaborating CBOs who participated in the educational workshops. Demographic information and knowledge on colorectal cancer were collected before and after the education to assess the effectiveness of the educational workshops. Chi-square and t-test were used to conduct data analysis.
Results: The mean age of study participants was 72 and 75% was female. African Americans, Asian and Hispanic Americans represented 39%, 29%, and 25% of the sample, respectively. Our findings show that 68% of participants have had CRC screening before and the most common screening method was colonoscopy (73%.) About 27% of participants had colon polyps detected. In addition, participants were more knowledgeable about the correct age to start CRC Screening in the post-intervention survey (74.6%) than in the pre-intervention survey (34%). After the workshops, based on 16 multiple choice and true/false questions, participants demonstrated to be more knowledgeable about CRC risk factors and screening behavior (9.6 vs. 11.1 points).
Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate that community-engaged education interventions are effective in raising awareness and increasing knowledge of colorectal cancer prevention in underserved African American, Asian American, and Hispanic American Communities Using a CBPR approach that incorporates input from CBOs is important in developing and delivering CRC education successfully. Currently, we are planning 6-month follow up internvetions with participants to assess if they had lifestyle behavior changes and to determine if participants did a colorectal cancer screening after the workshop.
Acknowledgment: This study reported in the abstract is funded, in part, by supported by TUFCCC/HC Regional Comprehensive Cancer Health Disparity Partnership, Award Number U54 CA221704(5) from the National Cancer Institute of National Institutes of Health (NCI/NIH, Contact PIs: Grace X. Ma, PhD and Olorunseun O. Ogunwobi, MD, PhD) and partially by NIH/NIGMS award # 1SC3GM131949-01 (PI: Ming-Chin Yeh). The content is the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the NCI/NIH or NIH/NIGMS.
Email questions and comments about this abstract to Si933@hunter.cuny.edu.