Lay health educators and print materials for the promotion of colorectal cancer screening among Korean Americans: A randomized comparative effectiveness study.

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer among Korean American men and women. Although CRC screening is effective in reducing the burden of this disease, studies have shown that Korean Americans have low screening rates.

Methods: The authors conducted a 2-arm cluster randomized controlled trial comparing a brochure (print) with a brochure and lay health educator (LHE) outreach (print + LHE) in increasing CRC screening rates among Korean American individuals. Self-administered written surveys at baseline and at 6 months assessed knowledge of CRC and its screening, ever screening, and being up to date with screening.

Results: A total of 28 LHEs recruited 348 participants aged 50 to 75 years from their social networks. Significant percentages of participants reported not having health insurance (29.3%) or a usual source of care (35.6%). At 6 months postintervention, the print + LHE participants had a greater increase in knowledge compared with those in the print arm (P = .0013). In multivariable analyses, both groups had significant increases in ever screening (print plus LHE: odds ratio [OR], 1.60 [95% confidence interval (95% CI), 1.26-2.03] and print: OR, 1.42 [95% CI, 1.10-1.82]) and being up to date with screening (print plus LHE: OR, 1.63 [95% CI, 1.23-2.16] and print: OR, 1.40 [95% CI, 1.04-1.89]). However, these increases did not differ significantly between the study arms. Having insurance and having seen a provider within the past year were found to be positively associated with screening.

Conclusions: Compared with a brochure, LHE outreach yielded greater increases in knowledge but resulted in similar increases in CRC screening in a Korean American population with barriers to health care access. More work is needed to appropriately address logistical and system barriers in this community. Cancer 2017;123:2705-15. © 2017 American Cancer Society.