Promoting Culturally Respectful Cancer Education Through Digital Storytelling.

Cancer is the leading cause of mortality among Alaska Native people. Over half of Alaska Native people live in rural communities where specially trained community members called Community Health Aides/Practitioners (CHA/Ps) provide health care. In response to CHA/Ps' expressed desire to learn more about cancer, four 5-day cancer education and digital storytelling courses were provided in 2014.

Co-Creating a Culturally Responsive Distance Education Cancer Course with, and for, Alaska's Community Health Workers: Motivations from a Survey of Key Stakeholders.

To gain input on a proposed culturally responsive, distance-delivered cancer education course informed by empowerment theory and adult-learning principles, Alaska's Community Health Aides/Practitioners (CHA/Ps) and CHA/P leadership were invited to take an online survey in February 2015. The proposed course will be developed as part of the "Distance Education to Engage Alaskan Community Health Aides in Cancer Control" project. The results of the survey demonstrate that respondents are both interested in taking the proposed class and engaging in course development.

Digital storytelling: a tool for health promotion and cancer awareness in rural Alaskan communities.

Background: The purpose of this study was to learn community members' perspectives about digital storytelling after viewing a digital story created by a Community Health Aide/Practitioner (CHA/P).

Methods: Using a qualitative research design, we explored digital storytelling likeability as a health-messaging tool, health information viewers reported learning and, if viewing, cancer-related digital stories facilitated increased comfort in talking about cancer. In addition, we enquired if the digital stories affected how viewers felt about cancer, as well as if viewing the digital stories resulted in health behaviour change or intent to change health behaviour.

Engaging Elements of Cancer-Related Digital Stories in Alaska.

The tradition of storytelling is an integral part of Alaska Native cultures that continues to be a way of passing on knowledge. Using a story-based approach to share cancer education is grounded in Alaska Native traditions and people's experiences and has the potential to positively impact cancer knowledge, understandings, and wellness choices. Community health workers (CHWs) in Alaska created a personal digital story as part of a 5-day, in-person cancer education course.

Qualitative evaluation of a colorectal cancer education CD-ROM for Community Health Aides/practitioners in Alaska.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is an important contributor to the cancer burden among Alaska Native people. CRC is the leading incident cancer and the second leading cause of cancer mortality among Alaska Native people. Completing recommended CRC screening procedures has the potential to reduce both CRC incidence and mortality.

Evaluating arts-based cancer education using an internet survey among Alaska community health workers.

Cancer, considered a rare disease among Alaska Native people as recently as the 1950s, surpassed heart disease in the 1990s to become the leading cause of mortality. In response to Alaska's village-based Community Health Workers' (CHWs) desire to learn more about cancer for themselves and the people in their communities, cancer education that incorporated the expressive arts of moving, drawing, and sculpting was developed, implemented, and evaluated. Arts-based education integrates the dynamic wisdom and experiences of Alaska Native people and western medical knowledge to share cancer information in a culturally respectful way.

Bridging storytelling traditions with digital technology.

Objective: The purpose of this project was to learn how Community Health Workers (CHWs) in Alaska perceived digital storytelling as a component of the "Path to Understanding Cancer" curriculum and as a culturally respectful tool for sharing cancer-related health messages.

Design: A pre-course written application, end-of-course written evaluation, and internet survey informed this project.

Methods: Digital storytelling was included in seven 5-day cancer education courses (May 2009-2012) in which 67 CHWs each created a personal 2-3 minute cancer-related digital story.

Telenovela: an innovative colorectal cancer screening health messaging tool.

Background: Alaska Native people have nearly twice the rate of colorectal cancer (CRC) incidence and mortality as the US White population.

Objective: Building upon storytelling as a culturally respectful way to share information among Alaska Native people, a 25-minute telenovela-style movie, What's the Big Deal?, was developed to increase CRC screening awareness and knowledge, role-model CRC conversations, and support wellness choices.

Design: Alaska Native cultural values of family, community, storytelling, and humor were woven into seven, 3-4 minute movie vignettes.

A Wellness Course for Community Health Workers in Alaska: "wellness lives in the heart of the community".

Objectives: To develop, implement, and evaluate a culturally respectful Wellness Course with and for Alaska's village-based Community Health Workers (CHWs) to support community health promotion and disease prevention.

Study Design: This article describes Wellness Course development, implementation, and evaluation.

Methods: Five 5-day Wellness Courses were provided for 55 CHWs from communities throughout Alaska.

Creating dialogue, creating change through the arts.

The "wellness picnic," an interactive hands-on learning activity, was developed to engage people in reflective conversations about their health behaviors and wellness journey. Participants used pictures, colors, and words to transform a paper plate into a symbolic representation of what wellness looked like to them. Within the wisdom of each participant's paper plate drawing, there emerged pathways for living well, creating a respectful place for sharing wellness understandings and cancer risk reduction activities.

Readers' theatre: a communication tool for colorectal cancer screening.

Unlabelled: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of cancer mortality for Alaska Native people, yet it can be almost totally prevented through colonoscopy screenings.

Purpose: A 25-minute Readers' Theatre script was developed with and for Alaska Native and American Indian Community Health Workers (CHWs) and the people in their communities to provide CRC screening information, model ways to talk about CRC screening, increase comfort with talking about CRC, and encourage healthy lifestyle choices.

Methods: Grounded in Indigenous methodologies, this paper describes the collaborative development, implementation, and evaluation of a CRC Readers' Theatre.

Learning about cancer has brightened my light: cancer education for Alaska Community Health Aides and Community Health Practitioners (CHA/Ps).

In response to Alaska's Community Health Aides/Practitioners (CHA/Ps) request for cancer information, the "Path to Understanding Cancer" course was developed, implemented, and extensively evaluated. Using a qualitative approach as one evaluation component, 128 of 168 course participants engaged in post-course telephone interviews. Of these, 116 (81%) CHA/Ps felt more comfortable in talking about cancer and 57% had increased cancer screening referrals for patients.

Healing hearts: laughter and learning.

Background: Cultural values of Alaska Native people acknowledge laughter as good medicine. It is heard in their words and stories.

Methods: To investigate how and in what ways laughter impacts learning from the learners' perspective, cancer education course evaluations were reviewed and a survey administered.

Cancer education for Community Health Aides/Practitioners (CHA/Ps) in Alaska assessing comfort with cancer.

Background: Village-based Community Health Aides and Community Health Practitioners (CHA/Ps) are the primary providers of health care in rural Alaska.

Methods: We discuss the development and results of a CHA/P cancer self-assessment survey, which assessed comfort with cancer knowledge and providing cancer information.

Results: A total of 402 responses were received from a mailed questionnaire to 477 CHA/Ps.

Using theater to promote cancer education in Alaska.

Background: Cancer, a rare disease in the 1950s, is now the leading cause of death among Alaska Natives (AN).

Methods: Building on AN rich traditions of storytelling to share knowledge and wisdom, a 45 minute play, Understanding, was developed to address cancer-related issues specific to AN.

Results: Written audience evaluations assessed the impact of this theater-based education.