Persuasive health educational materials for colorectal cancer screening

Abstract

This paper describes an effort to design and evaluate persuasive educational materials for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening. Although CRC screening is highly effective, screening rates in the US remain low. Educational materials represent one strategy for educating patients about screening options and increasing openness to screening. We developed a one-page brochure, leveraging factual information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and national guidelines, and strategies for persuasion from the human factors and behavioral economics literatures. We evaluated the resulting brochure with adults over the age of 50. Findings suggest that the educational brochure increases knowledge of CRC and screening options, and increases openness to screening. Furthermore, no significant difference was found between the new one-page brochure and an existing multi-page Screen for Life brochure recommended by the CDC. We interpret these findings as indication that the more practical and potentially less intimidating one-page brochure is as effective as the existing multi-page Screen for Life brochure.

Healthcare information systems: the cognitive challenge

“…Militello, et al [ 45 ] also developed a one-page educational brochure designed to help a primary-care provider discuss screening options for, and common misconceptions about colorectal cancer with their patients. Although the Center for Disease Control already had a two-page brochure on this topic, this new one-page brochure was designed to be easier to view on a screen, easier to print, and less daunting to read [ 46 ].…”

“…Primary-care providers also reported reduced mental effort, assessed subjectively on a nine-point scale from extreme to none [ 47 ], and rated the Screening and Surveillance App positively for usability [ 45 ]. A separate evaluation showed that the one-page educational brochure improved knowledge of and openness to colorectal cancer screening to a degree equivalent to that achieved with the more cumbersome and detailed two-page brochure from the Center for Disease Control [ 46 ].…”

Designing Colorectal Cancer Screening Decision Support

“…Furthermore, there was no significant difference between scores for those who reviewed the one-page brochure and those who reviewed the two-page fact sheet, suggesting that the single-page format was equally effective. For an in-depth description of the study methods and findings, see Militello, Borders, et al (2014).…”