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Colorectal Cancer Screening Brochure for Latinos: Focus Group Evaluation

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Abstract

Colorectal cancer (CRC) can be effectively prevented via screening colonoscopy, yet adherence rates remain low among Latinos. Interventions targeting individual and cultural barriers to screening are needed. We developed an educational brochure to target these barriers faced by a diverse Latino population. The objective was to evaluate the responses of the target population to the culturally and theoretically informed brochure through community member focus groups. Facilitators conducted six focus groups, stratified by gender, language, and prior colonoscopy experience. Topics included: brochure content and layout, cancer knowledge, and CRC screening determinants. Focus groups documented community members’ responses to the brochure’s overall message and its informational and visual components. Changes to wording, visual aids, and content were suggested to make the brochure culturally more acceptable. Results indicated relevance of the theoretically and culturally guided approach to the development of the brochure leading to refinement of its content and design.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank all the community members who participated in focus groups and the East Harlem Partnership for Cancer Prevention Community Advisory Board for sharing their thoughts and opinions. We would also like to thank Alejandro Varela for his expert facilitation of focus groups for men, Clarissa Martinez for assisting in focus groups for women, and the rest of our staff for recruiting participants for focus groups. This study was funded by the National Cancer Institute, Grant # R01 CA140737-01A2.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 641 Lexington Avenue, 7th Floor, New York, NY, 10022, USA

    Elizaveta Efuni & Katherine DuHamel

  2. Department of Oncological Sciences, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Icahn Medical Institute Floor 2nd Fl Room 2-70, 1425 Madison Avenue, NY, 10029, New York, USA

    Julia L. Cooperman, Elizaveta Efuni, Cristina Villagra & Lina Jandorf

Authors
  1. Julia L. Cooperman
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  2. Elizaveta Efuni
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  3. Cristina Villagra
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  4. Katherine DuHamel
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  5. Lina Jandorf
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Katherine DuHamel.

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Cooperman, J.L., Efuni, E., Villagra, C. et al. Colorectal Cancer Screening Brochure for Latinos: Focus Group Evaluation. J Canc Educ 28, 582–590 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-013-0506-9

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