Purpose/Objectives To describe community-based participatory processes used to develop promotore training on cancer research, and to assess the feasibility of training promotores from rural communities to disseminate cancer research information. Design Prospective, cohort design. Setting Rural communities in the state of Kansas. Sample 34 Spanish-speaking promotores attended an information session; 27 enrolled and 22 completed training. Methods With input from a community advisory board, the authors developed a leadership and cancer curriculum and trained Spanish-speaking promotores to disseminate information on cancer research. Promotores completed pretraining and post-training surveys in Spanish to assess demographic characteristics and changes in knowledge of cancer, cancer treatment and cancer research studies, and intent to participate in cancer research. Main Research Variables Cancer knowledge, awareness of cancer clinical trials, interest in participating in cancer clinical research studies. Findings Compared to pretraining, after training, promotores were more likely to correctly define cancer, identify biopsies, describe cancer stages, and report ever having heard of cancer research studies. Conclusions Completion rates of the training and willingness to participate in cancer research were high, supporting the feasibility of training promotores to deliver community-based education to promote cancer research participation. Implications for Nursing Nursing professionals and researchers can collaborate with promotores to disseminate cancer education and research among underserved rural Latino communities in Kansas and elsewhere. Members of these communities appear willing and interested in improving their knowledge of cancer and cancer clinical trials.

Background and Purpose: Less than three percent of all adult cancer patients participate in cancer research studies. Participation is even lower for patients from underserved Latino populations. Community Health Workers (Promotores de Salud) have been shown to improve minority participation in clinical research and access to care. The objective is to describe the development and implementation of a theory-based, language and literacy appropriate training program to advance awareness and interest in cancer research studies among Latinos. Our central hypothesis is that a culturally sensitive, language and literacy appropriate program will improve a) knowledge about cancer research studies and b) attitudes regarding participation. Study Design: The study was carried out in three phases: 1) Building an infrastructure for a commu nity based participatory research program; 2) Training promotores utilizing a community-based curriculum; and 3) Using Paulo Freire's education model, we designed and implemented a cancer 101 and a cancer research studies training program. Prior to the training, Latino community members completed a pre-assessment that included demographic, socio-economic information, and open ended questions about cancer topics and cancer research studies. Results: A total of 27 Promotores enrolled in the training program and 22 (81.48%) completed the three sessions. At the end of the training session, 92% believed that it was very important for community members to learn about cancer research studies and 85% felt comfortable talking about cancer research studies in their communities. Impact: Our study demonstrated the feasibility of recruiting and engaging promotores to improve community knowledge of cancer research studies and attitudes regarding participation in cancer research studies. This initial step will inform the development of future community-based interventions. Citation Format: Ana Paula Cupertino, Johana Bravo De los Rios, Mercedes Saint-Elin. Promotores advancing knowledge and participation in cancer research studies. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Fifth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2012 Oct 27-30; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2012;21(10 Suppl):Abstract nr B02.