Formative Research on How Faith Communities can Promote Lung Cancer Screening

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Black or African American men experience the highest lung cancer incidence (60.6 per 100,000 people) and
mortality rates (45.7 per 100,000 people) compared to any other racial/ethnic group of both men and women
and African Americans are much less likely to undergo lung cancer screening compared to their White
counterparts. Faith-based settings have proven to be an effective implementation setting for promoting cancer
screenings among African Americans, but the ability of faith-based settings to serve as a setting to promote
lung cancer screening is underexplored. To address these gaps, the trainee (Ms. Anderson) will collect data
related to the readiness of African American faith communities in Georgia to promote lung cancer screening.
Guided by the PRECEDE-PROCEED model, the specific aims are to (1) explore barriers and facilitators to
lung cancer screening through interviews with African-American smokers in Georgia with special attention to
the potential role of the church in lung cancer screening promotion through interviews; (2) conduct a scoping
review that examines core elements of existing faith-based cancer screening programs to identify possible
program components for a faith-based lung cancer screening promotion intervention; and, (3) assess
organizational readiness for implementing promising program components in a future faith-based lung cancer
screening promotion program among ministry leaders using a church readiness survey. The expected outcome
will be data related to determinants of lung cancer screening among African Americans and the readiness
among African American churches to implement lung cancer screening program components for a faith-based
lung cancer screening intervention. This knowledge can inform the development of faith-based lung cancer
screening promotion interventions that prioritize African Americans. Additionally, this work will support the
training of Ms. Anderson, who is committed to becoming an NIH-funded independent investigator in cancer
prevention and control, health equity, and implementation science. Ms. Anderson’s three-year training plan
includes: (1) formally develop methodological skills and expand knowledge in implementation science and
intervention development in the context of cancer prevention and control, (2) develop knowledge of
community-engaged research and gain experience collaborating with African American faith communities, and
(3) develop skills in mixed-methods approaches for intervention development, including measurement and
survey development and qualitative research. The team of mentors, Dr. Kegler (Primary Sponsor), Dr. Epps
(Co-sponsor), Dr. Guan (Collaborator), Dr. Morshed (Collaborator), and Dr. Higgins (Expert Advisor) will
provide oversight, guidance, and mentorship throughout the course of the fellowship period in the topic areas
of cancer prevention, implementation science, and mixed methods. Ms. Anderson will leverage resources
within the doctoral program, Rollins School of Public Health, and Emory University. The candidate, mentorship
team, and the environment are extremely well situated to achieve the proposed research and training aims.

Grant Number: 1F31CA294990-01A1
NIH Institute/Center: NIH
Principal Investigator: Shacoria Anderson