Abstract
This study seeks to ascertain whether a culturally tailored art calendar could improve participation in cancer screening activities. We conducted a randomized, controlled calendar mail-out in which a Native art calendar was sent by first class mail to 5,633 patients seen at an urban American Indian clinic during the prior 2 years. Using random assignment, half of the patients were mailed a “message” calendar with screening information and reminders on breast, colorectal, lung, and prostate cancer; the other half received a calendar without messages. The receipt of cancer screening services was ascertained through chart abstraction in the following 15 months. In total, 5,363 observations (health messages n = 2,695; no messages n = 2,668) were analyzed. The calendar with health messages did not result in increased receipt of any cancer-related prevention outcome compared to the calendar without health messages. We solicited clinic input to create a culturally appropriate visual intervention to increase cancer screening in a vulnerable, underserved urban population. Our results suggest that printed materials with health messages are likely too weak an intervention to produce the desired behavioral outcomes in cancer screening.
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Acknowledgments
This effort was supported by the National Institute of Aging (P30 AG15297, S. Manson), Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (P01 HS10854, S. Manson), National Center for Minority Health and Health Disparities (P60 MD000507, S. Manson), and by Native People for Cancer Control, a Community Networks Program of the National Cancer Institute (U01 CA114642, D. Buchwald). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the official views of the National Institutes of Health or the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
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The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest of any kind.
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Doorenbos, A.Z., Jacobsen, C., Corpuz, R. et al. A Randomized Controlled Calendar Mail-Out to Increase Cancer Screening Among Urban American Indian and Alaska Native Patients. J Canc Educ 26, 549–554 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-011-0217-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-011-0217-z