Educational Program to Increase Colorectal Cancer Screening: a Cluster Trial

In this study, investigators aim to evaluate 20 community coalitions and 7,200 participants by: testing passive and active approaches to disseminating the Educational Program to Increase Colorectal Cancer Screening (EPICS) to increase screening rates for colorectal cancer; measuring the extent to which EPICS is accepted and the fidelity of implementation in various settings and estimating the potential translatability and public health impact of EPICS. This four-arm cluster randomized trial (five community coalitions plus 1,800 African Americans, 50-74 years of age, who are not current on colorectal cancer (CRC) screening per arm) compares the following implementation strategies: (1) web access to facilitator training materials and toolkits without technical assistance (TA); (2) web access, but with technical assistance (TA); (3) in-person access to facilitator training materials and toolkits without TA and (4) in-person access with TA. Primary outcome measures are the reach (the proportion of representative eligible community coalitions and individuals participating in the trial) and effectiveness (post-intervention changes in CRC screening rates). Secondary outcomes include adoption (percentage of community coalitions implementing the EPICS sessions) and implementation (quality and consistency of the intervention delivery). The extent to which community coalitions continue to implement EPICS post-implementation (maintenance) will also be measured. Cost-effectiveness analysis will be conducted to compare passive to active dissemination costs. Investigators believe that implementing this evidence-based colorectal cancer screening intervention in partnership with community coalitions will result in more rapid adoption than traditional top-down approaches, and that changes in community CRC screening practices are more likely to be sustainable over time. With its national reach, this study has the potential to enhance understanding of barriers and enablers to the uptake of educational programs aimed at eliminating cancer health disparities.