Abstract
Colorectal cancer (CRC is the third leading cause of death for African Americans. African Americans are about 33% more likely to die of cancer as are whites and more than twice as likely to die of cancer as are Asian/Pacific Islanders, American Indians, and Hispanics. Both men and women are at risk for CRC. The disease is most common among people age 50 and older and the risk increases with age. Lack of knowledge about CRC has been associated with low adherence to screening. Despite progress in health promotion and disease prevention, health disparities continue to exist between African Americans and other ethnic groups. One of the most notable health disparities exists in relation to CRC. The aims of this pilot study are to: 1) determine the CRC knowledge and perceptions about CRC threat, barriers to screening, and screening behaviors of African Americans age 50 and above; 2) determine factors influencing African American perceptions about CRC threat and screening in those age 50 and above; 3) determine the difference in CRC knowledge, perceptions about CRC threat, barriers to screening, and screening behaviors between African American men and women age 50 and above. Approval from the Institutional Review Board will be obtained prior to recruitment of subjects. A convenience sample of 100 African American men and women will be recruited from churches, health clinics, and senior residences to participate in the study. A two-part survey on CRC knowledge, perceptions, and modifying factors will be developed and used for data collection. Part I of the survey will measure CRC knowledge, perceptions about CRC threats, barriers to screening, and screening behaviors. Part II of the survey will measure factors influencing perceptions about CRC threat and screening. Reliability and validity of the survey will be determined. Descriptive an inferential statistics will be used to analyze the data. This study is predicated on the assumption that health beliefs play a major role in determining whether or not one participates in health promotion and disease prevention behaviors. Cancer, because of its potential severity, represents a condition that can be use to explore knowledge, perceptions, and behaviors of older African Americans as important factors that will contribute to the development of approaches to teaching self-management of CRC prevention and detection.
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Principal Investigator
Pauline Green
Co-Investigators
Beatrice Adderley-Kelly
Ruth McCorkle
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