Tools for Improving Colorectal Cancer Screening Rates: Multimedia vs Print

Trial Information

Tools for Improving Colorectal Cancer Screening Rates: Multimedia vs Print

Despite the clear benefits of screening for early detection and prevention of colorectal
cancer, as many as half of eligible adults remain unscreened. Poor and under served
populations, particularly African American and Latino/Hispanic adults, are at greatest risk
for noncompliance with recommended tests. Health education strategies developed to date
have led to relatively minimal gains, resulting in little translation to routine clinical
practice. This is especially true in more difficult, resource-strained practice settings,
such as community health centers.

The interventions in the proposed study draw on communication science to optimize message
design, use communication technology to optimize message delivery and include parallel
content in both print and multimedia versions to allow comparison of format-related effects
on both knowledge and screening rates.The multimedia and print tools are based on patient
education programs that we developed with extensive attention to theory as well as community
member input.