Effectiveness of a controlled trial to promote colorectal cancer screening in Vietnamese Americans

Objectives. We conducted a controlled trial of a public education and provider intervention to increase colorectal cancer (CRC) screening rates among Vietnamese Americans, who typically have lower rates than non-Hispanic Whites. Methods. The public education intervention included a Vietnamese-language CRC screening media campaign, distribution of health educational material, and a hotline. The provider intervention consisted of continuing medical education seminars, newsletters, and DVDs. Vietnamese in Alameda and Santa Clara Counties, California, received the intervention from 2004 to 2006; Vietnamese in Harris County, Texas, were controls and received no intervention. A quasi-experimental study design with pre- and postintervention surveys of the same 533 participants was used to evaluate the combined intervention. Results. The postintervention-to-preintervention odds ratio for having ever had a sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy was 1.4 times greater in the intervention community than in the control community. Knowledge and attitudes mediated the effect of the intervention on CRC screening behavior. Media exposure mediated the effect of the intervention on knowledge. Conclusions. Improving CRC knowledge through the media contributed to the effectiveness of the intervention.