Strengthening Communities Where We Live, Work, and Play

Closing the Gaps In Healthy People 2020, the government targets the year 2020 for 70.5% of Americans to be regularly screened beginning at age 50, with earlier and more frequent testing for those at higher risk. • How do we reach the 50–55% of women approaching age 50, who are not being screened? Assistant Professor Kelly Brittain, PhD, RN, identified another significant gap. It is the gap between an individual’s need to make a healthcare decision and making an informed one. THE COST OF DOING NOTHING If Cancer Kills, and Colorectal Cancer Screenings Save Lives, Why Don’t More Women Get Them? Screening is the best weapon in the fight against colorectal cancer, the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the U.S. • Despite the increase in colorectal cancer awareness, only 45–50% of women over age 50 adhere to screening guidelines. • African American women are less likely to seek screening and suffer from colorectal cancer more often than any other ethnic or racial group. 18 • Caucasian women are less likely to report being screened than Caucasian men. • Later diagnosis and an advanced stage of the disease at the time of diagnosis contribute to elevated mortality risks and shorter survival rates. • How do we inform women about screening, create timely awareness of risk factors, and provide a basis for discussing decisions with healthcare providers? Research on the factors that affect women’s low adherence rates to colorectal cancer screening is generating new knowledge about decision making processes, effective communication channels, and gender differences in messaging. Understanding How Women Make Healthcare Decisions Protecting the Health of Women Women collect healthcare information from family, friends, the internet, and social media before making a screening decision. Important factors include family support, cultural identity, the value of screening preferences, understanding the risks and benefits of screening, and beliefs about colorectal cancer and screening. Using Social Media to Communicate and Inform Facebook, Twitter, mobile apps, and internet sites such as WebMD can be influential in the decision making process. To capitalize on this, Brittain has developed My Life Cloud, a mobile app that leads women through questions that result in screening recommendations. She foresees the day when primary care providers offer the app prior to an appointment to generate discussion of the patient’s screening preferences. This will, in turn, lead to more women getting screened. Brittain’s Facebook page, Colorectal Cancer Screening Awareness for Women, focuses on increased awareness and risk reduction strategies. Reducing colorectal cancer risk involves five major factors: diet, exercise, alcohol moderation, no smoking, and regular screening. Educating women to make informed decisions about taking that essential first step—getting screened—has an added bonus. It promotes better health overall. Assistant Professor Kelly Brittain, PhD, RN Experience and Inspiration Over a decade of community patient education and support experience at Detroit’s Karmanos Cancer Center led Brittain to identify the importance of reaching at-risk populations for cancer prevention. Research Brittain’s initial research in colorectal cancer screening among African American women has expanded to include all women. Funded by the NIH-National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, the Center for Innovation in Point of Care Technologies for the Future of Cancer Care U54 grant involved a national multidisciplinary team. She served as the sub-project Principal Investigator with colleagues from Boston University and the MSU Colleges of Engineering and Communication Arts and Sciences. MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF NURSING • NURSING.MSU.EDU 19

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