NO BUTTS ABOUT IT: BRIDGING THE GAP

BETWEEN EARLY DETECTION OF COLON CANCER

AND UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS

By: Brianna Kelly

HLTH 634
Problem/Need statement
Colon cancer is the third most common form of cancer in the United States among both
men and women.1Around 4.4% of women and men will get the diagnosis of colon cancer at
some point in their life.1 In 2013, there were about 1,177,556 people that had colon and rectum
cancer in the United States and the numbers are increasing at a rapid rate.1 Although most people
believe that a diagnosis of cancer is a death sentence, colon cancer is a type of cancer that can be
found early using proper screening and early detection. According to an article published by the
CDC some factors that impact screening disparities are socioeconomic status and access to
healthcare.2 In poorer communities and rural areas there is limited access to care as well as the
inability to pay for health services.2 This initiative seeks to educate the community on the
importance of proper screening, early detection, and the signs and symptoms of colon cancer
through detailed information packets, pamphlets, and other materials in laymens terms. Multiple
educational sessions will be put on by public health workers to facilitate learning within the
community. The more education people have about colon cancer and screening, the more likely
they will be to get these tests done. Education is key to changing this cancer objective.
The basis of this initiative is educating the community through educational sessions put on by
public health workers. The main goal of this initiative is to increase the survival rate of colon
cancer through educational resources provided by public health workers.

Goal(s)
-To increase the amount of men and women that participate in the screening of colon cancer

-To increase the survival rate of colon cancer through educational resources provided by public
health workers

Objectives (for each goal)

-During the pilot testing, public health educators will receive at least a good rating from at
least 75% of participants.

- After reading educational packet on signs and symptoms of colon cancer that have been
provided during open forum education session, one out of five participants will be able to assess
their own signs and symptoms.

Sponsoring agency/Contact person

The American Cancer Society is a health organization that works hard to educate the
community on different types of cancer. They work within the community informing the
population about early detection, screening, and the treatment of different types of cancer. They
have a plethora of printed materials as well as informed individuals to help the community gain a
better understanding of cancer. This organization is partnering with the No Butts About It
Initiative to not only provide the community with information about colon cancer, but also
giving the initiative a building to house these educational sessions. The point person for this
initiative is Brianna Kelly.
Primary target audience
Our health program focuses on a wider population that includes men and women between
the ages of 50 and 75 and inclusive of all races.1 It is further segmented by socioeconomics,
focusing on people in the low socioeconomic population.

Primary target key strategies (list for each audience)

The main strategy for this initiative is educating the community. Education is key to
creating changes within the community. Flyers, pamphlets, and information packets will be used
to educate different groups of people. Some barriers that can effect this primary audience are
peoples willingness to participate in this health program, peoples ability to get transportation to
the health program, and

Secondary target audience(s)

The secondary audience that will be targeted will be family members of our primary
target group. We are hoping through word of mouth, more and more people will hear about the
importance of screening and early detection of colon cancer.

Pretest strategy (trial of primary target message/channel)

The best way to test the No Butts About It health programs effectiveness is through a pre
and posttest survey. The pretest would include questions that determine the participants
knowledge of colon cancer screening options as well as the signs and symptoms of colon cancer.
The posttest would include questions that are similar to the pretest, but the hope would be that
participants have gained more knowledge on colon cancer based on what they learned from the
No Butts About It program.

Theoretical foundation
The Health Belief Model is the perfect model for this initiative. The health belief model is
used to understand why people dont take the steps necessary to avoid a certain disease or
outcome.3 Most people that dont know the facts about colon cancer will think their
susceptibility to developing colon cancer is low. These people also typically dont understand the
perceived severity of a diagnosis of colon cancer. This initiative will help participants understand
the benefits of early detection and screening. The last portion of the health belief model is
perceived barriers.3 Because this initiative is geared towards people from poorer communities,
some barriers these people might face is a lack of access to care or an inability to pay for
screening services. This initiative will help eliminate these barriers by creating more screening
options for people that cant afford regular access to care.
The PRECEDE-PROCEED model would be the most effective evaluation model to
determine the effectiveness of the No Butts About it health program. The purpose of the Precede-
Proceed model is to determine what factors cause a person to change their behaviors.4 Proceed
stands for Policy, Regulatory, and Organization Constructs in Education and Environmental
Development.4 It is essentially about how to proceed with an intervention. Precede, which is
broken into 4 phases, occurs when one implements the intervention and then evaluates this
intervention. This model would help determine what causes someone to either reject or accept a
new behavior. This would be vital to evaluation the effectives of this health program.

Management chart
Responsible Person Task Company Days Until Complete
A Creating education American Cancer 30
 packets Society
B Recruiting Charlotte, NC 10
participants Department of Health
C Promoting health Public Health 5
program marketing division
D Facilitating health Public health 2 classes monthly
program/ teaching workers/ educators

Budget
The cost of this program wont be astronomical. Most of the items we need are paper
products that need to be printed like pamphlets, packets of information, and flyers. The
American Cancer will host our educational sessions for free and have given us the ability to
use their printer. We will have to pay for paper and ink. Public Health educators will be
volunteering their time.

Paper: $24.99 for an 8 ream pack of copy paper (QTY 3= $74.97)

Ink: $54.99 for a 2 pack of black ink (QTY 4= $219.96)
Staples: $4.29 for 5,000 staples (QTY 1= $4.29)
Staplers: $8.99 for 1 (QTY 5= $44.95)
Newspaper Advertisement: $2,000 for 1/8 advertisement page (Air 1x= $2,000)
Television Advertisement local commercial: $400 (Air 2x= $800)
Radio Advertisement: $300 (Air 2x= $600)
PSA: Free
Total Cost: $3,000
The basis of this initiative is educating the community through educational sessions.
Printed materials are needed to facilitate these sessions and will also be given to participants
to go home with. This will help remind participants of what theyve learned as well give
them tools to help educate other people within their community.

Issues of concern/potential problems

Some issues of concern that could arise are peoples willingness to participate in this
initiative. This would require people to take time out of their days to sit through an educational
session. Other than that, there arent any other potential problems associated with this health
program.

Evaluation strategies
The evaluation stage in creating a health program is one of the most important aspects.
The purpose of stage 4, the evaluation stage is to depict how well the program met its objectives
and what improvements can be done to make the health program better.1 The No Butts About it
program is focused on educating the community on the importance of the early detection and
screening of colon cancer. The basis of this program is educating the community through
educational sessions put on by public health educators. The educational sessions will consist of
information packets, flyers, and a presentation that will inform the audience on certain aspects of
colon cancer. Following the participants exposure to all of this new information, the most
important thing to do is to figure out if the information that was provided was effective and if
one objectives were met. Although this health program has several objectives, some of the main
objectives are During the pilot testing, public health educators will receive at least a good
rating from at least 75% of participants and After reading educational packets on the signs and
symptoms of colon cancer that have been provided during open forum education session, one out
of five participants will be able to assess their own signs and symptoms. The best way to test
the No Butts About It health programs effectiveness is through a pre and posttest survey. The
pretest would include questions that determine the participants knowledge of colon cancer
screening options as well as the signs and symptoms of colon cancer. The posttest would include
questions that are similar to the pretest, but the hope would be that participants have gained more
knowledge on colon cancer based on what they learned from the No Butts About It program.

1. Cancer of the colon and rectum - SEER stat fact sheets. National Cancer Institute.
https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/colorect.html. Accessed May 25, 2016.
2. Colorectal Cancer Risk Factors. American Cancer Society.
https://www.cancer.org/cancer/colon-rectal-cancer/causes-risks-prevention/risk-
factors.html. Accessed May 25, 2017.
3. Making health communication programs work: a planners guide. Bethesda, MD: U.S.
Dept. of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, National Institutes of
Health; 2002.
4. Section 2. PRECEDE/PROCEED. Chapter 2. Other Models for Promoting
Community Health and Development | Section 2. PRECEDE/PROCEED | Main
Section | Community Tool Box. http://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-contents/overview/other-
models-promoting-community-health-and-development/preceder-proceder/main.
Accessed June 22, 2017