Colon Cancer Risk Counseling

An Effective Practice

Description

This Colon Cancer Risk Counseling program is available to adults, aged 40 and older, who have a family history of colorectal cancer in at least one first-degree relative. Individuals with a first-degree relative has had colorectal cancer are at increased risk, and should participate in early detection. Participants receive individual one-hour, face-to-face health counseling sessions with a health educator. The sessions include a chart to review general information about colorectal cancer, risk factors, types of colorectal cancer screening, and screening guidelines. Participants receive individually tailored materials, including a personal risk profile, a personal screening recommendation chart, an action planning form, and feedback about perceived benefits and barriers to screening. Participants receive follow-up phone calls to review action plans, reinforce information about risk reduction, provide further counseling, and review screening results for participants who have been screened.

Goal / Mission

The goal of this program is to increase cancer screening among individuals with first-degree relatives who have had colorectal cancer.

Results / Accomplishments

In a randomized controlled trial comparing intervention participants with individuals who received a comparable general health counseling intervention. Participants in the Colon Cancer Risk Counseling program increased knowledge and perceived risk when compared to the control group. The intervention group had a significantly greater increase in screening adherence from baseline to 4-month follow-up (from 29% to 49%) when compared to the control group (from 31% to 38%) (p = 0.03). The intervention group had a net increase of 17 percentage points over the control group at the 12-month follow-up.

About this Promising Practice

Organization(s)
Cancer Research Center of Hawaii
Primary Contact
Alana Steffen
Prevention & Control Program
Cancer Research Center of Hawaii
677 Ala Moana Blvd.
Gold Bond Building, Suite 200
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813
(808) 564-5813
asteffen@crch.hawaii.edu
http://www.uhcancercenter.org/index.php/research/r...
Topics
Health / Cancer
Health / Prevention & Safety
Organization(s)
Cancer Research Center of Hawaii
Source
Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention
Date of publication
Jul 2007
Date of implementation
2001
Location
Hawaii
For more details
Target Audience
Families