INTRODUCTION. Incidence and mortality rates for breast, prostate, and colorectal cancers all exceed national rates in Georgia and are higher among African Americans (AAs). Ensuring culturally competent and equitable health care delivery relies on creating an educated and engaged health care team. Patient stories are powerful examples of community-learned experiences and can be used to educate better providers and health care students who serve diverse populations, particularly when communicating risk and prevention of cancer. The goal of the CHANGE project is to provide a sustainable model of evidence-based cancer awareness through education - with an emphasis on prevention and early detection behaviors. We will develop a health disparities and culturally competent cancer care e-Learning curriculum for health care professionals, hematology-oncology fellows, residents, and medical students at the Medical College of Georgia.
METHODS. Thirty community members and stakeholders (93% AA, 76% female, all adults) were recruited through public housing, healthcare clinics and providers, and community organizations. Vignettes describing patient access and care interactions were used in semi-structured interviews to guide conversations about experiences accessing care, attitudes towards cancer prevention, and community cancer beliefs. Interviews were recorded, professionally transcribed, and content analyzed using NVivo 12.0 by two independent raters.
RESULTS. Three common themes emerged: accessibility of healthcare (transportation, finances, and difficulties in scheduling were primary barriers); cancer myths and cultural norms (no interpersonal discussion of cancer, seen as “taboo,” cancer will spread if cut into and cancer is contagious); and experience of racial bias in health care (historical racial bias and systemic racism; receipt of treatment and care perceived to be different due to race; lack of AA providers).
CONCLUSION. This sample adequately represented those most at risk for cancer in Augusta, GA area. Their shared experiences will be used to design and inform an e-learning curriculum, in conjunction with education on health disparities across the state and specific to the local community. This will provide a comprehensive approach to provider education that will begin to improve patient care satisfaction and health outcomes.
Citation Format: Marlo M. Vernon, Samantha Jones, Justin X. Moore, Steve S. Coughlin, Vahe Heboyan, Shakirah Clarke, Barbara Idun, Martha S. Tingen. Cancer health awareness through screening and education (CHANGE): Understanding community experience accessing cancer care [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2022; 2022 Apr 8-13. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(12_Suppl):Abstract nr 1020.
