Screening to the converted: An educational intervention in African American churches

Background. African American women have higher incidences of breast and cer vical cancers and African American men present with more advanced stages of colon and prostate cancers than do their non-African American counterparts . Since the church is central to the organization of the African American c ommunity, the authors set out to determine whether a church-directed educat ional project could influence parishioners to obtain cancer screening. Meth ods. Three African American churches having memberships of 250, 500, and 1, 500, respectively, were selected for their different socioeconomic strata: one congregation was composed mostly of working poor, the second was more a ffluent, and the third consisted primarily of retirees. During a five-week summer period, appropriate literature, health fairs, testimonials by cancer survivors, and visits by representatives of the medical community were use d to increase awareness of cancer screening. Surveys regarding cancer-scree ning behaviors were distributed at the end of church services. Using the gu idelines established by the American Cancer Society, individual recommendat ions for screening examinations were developed and sent to parishioners bas ed on their survey responses. Results. Of 437 parishioners surveyed (73% fe male, 27% male), 75% were 40 years old or older. Many reported up-to-date s creening for breast (84%), cervical (78%), colon (62%), and prostate (89%) cancers. The results were remarkably similar in all three churches. Telepho ne follow-up seven months after the survey directed at the 120 parishioners identified as noncompliant for at least one cancer screening revealed that 49% had obtained the appropriate screenings. Conclusions. These African Am erican churchgoers were well screened compared with estimated national aver ages, possibly due to previous efforts of the activist ministers in the chu rches selected. The message for cancer screening is heeded when delivered t hrough the African American church.