Abstract A20: What's in the cancer biology part of Community Health Worker Curricula: A systematic review

Abstract

Abstract Background: Disparities in cancer treatment and outcomes mirror socio-economical, racial, ethnic, and educational backgrounds. An important approach for closing health disparities is increasing scientific and health cancer literacy in the community. This can be achieved by Community Health Workers (CHWs). CHWs are thus at the frontline of our efforts to close these health care gap. However, the current status of a standardized cancer-biology training module for CHWs is unknown. Hypothesis: If we can identify the material covered in the cancer-biology portion of published CHW training curricula, then a standardized cancer-biology module can be developed based on evidence of best practices and recommendations. Methods: A comprehensive search of the published literature on training of CHWs using Pubmed and following the guidelines established by the Cochrane Collaboration systematic review process was performed. Methods for completing this systematic review included identification of a topic; selection of articles based on specialized criteria; design and implementation of a data extraction form; and systematic data synthesis and appraisal from the selected articles to diminish bias. Results: Using this methodology, 49 articles were selected from an initial Pubmed search that yielded 228 literature entries using “Cancer Education Curriculum Community Health Workers” as search criteria. Using this strategy, we will produce a systematic and comprehensive review of the science behind cancer training portion of published CHW curriculum in the U.S. This approach will aid in improving CHW training. Citation Format: Nicole Offer, Kierstyn Jeffries, Danyell S. Wilson. What's in the cancer biology part of Community Health Worker Curricula: A systematic review. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Seventh AACR Conference on The Science of Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; Nov 9-12, 2014; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2015;24(10 Suppl):Abstract nr A20.