Tools for Improving Colorectal Cancer Screening Rates: Multimedia Versus 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.