Target Audience: Low literacy

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Tailoring Colorectal Cancer Screening Messaging: A Practical Coalition Guide

This resource is targeted at coalition members and leaders who are looking to make highly effective campaigns to increase colorectal cancer (CRC) screening rates in their communities, especially for those hardest to reach. Research shows that tailoring health messaging to a specific community produces greater changes in health behavior, such as CRC screenings. By using this step-by-step guide, coalitions can find practical tips and strategies as well as successful case studies illustrating the process.  

This guide was developed by the ACS NCCRT with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) cooperative agreement #NU58DP006460. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by, CDC/HHS, or the U.S. Government.

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NuestrasVoces
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Nuestras Voces Network Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month Infographic

This bilingual infographic on colorectal cancer was developed by the National Alliance for Hispanic Health’s Nuestras Voces Network Program to raise awareness about the importance of screening, and to promote the information from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) Screen for Life National Colorectal Cancer Action Campaign during National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.

This infographic can be shared, posted on social media, printed for community distribution, and customized to include a local organization logo. For more information on how to use this resource in your own community see contact information below.

Evaluation: The content of the infographic was based on evidence-based resources including NCCRT’s 2019 Colorectal Cancer Screening Messaging Guidebook and CDC’s Screen for Life National Colorectal Cancer Action Campaign.

Permissions: Made publicly available online by the National Alliance for Hispanic Health’s Nuestras Voces Network Program. See Contact section below for more information.

Publication date: 2020

Post date: March 30, 2020

Contact: For more information about this infographic and the Nuestras Voces Network Program please contact Marcela Gaitán at mgaitan@healthyamericas.org.

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HRSA Health Center Program
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HSRA Community Health Center Program Data

Each year, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) funded Health Centers (HC) are required to report a core set of information that includes data on patient demographics, services provided, clinical indicators, utilization rates, costs, and revenues. Since 2012, colorectal cancer screening has been included as a clinical quality measure (CQM).

HRSA’s Health Center Data website allows users to explore the UDS colorectal cancer screening rate at the national, the state, and at the HC level. The UDS Mapper allows users to view UDS measures by zip code, create custom maps by adding graphics and text, and export maps. Free registration is required to use the UDS Mapper.

Evaluation: The specification for HRSA’s CQMs are aligned with Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) electronic-specified clinical quality measures (e-CQMS) to ensure measure alignment across the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). HRSA is also modernizing the UDS reporting process to increase data standardization across national programs, reduce reporting burden, increase data quality, and expand data use to improve clinical care and operations. Rigorous reporting requirements ensure accurate reporting of quality data.

Permissions: Made publicly available online by the Health Resources and Services Administration.

Publication date: Published annually; latest data is for 2016

Post date: October 2, 2017

Contact: Send comments, questions, and suggestions via web form or call 877-974-2742.

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CRC Communications Guidebook
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80% by 2018 Communications Guidebook: Recommended Messaging to Reach the Unscreened

This Guidebook is based on market research from the American Cancer Society with guidance from the NCCRT Public Awareness Task Group. The Guidebook is designed to help educate, empower and mobilize three key audiences who are not getting screened for colorectal cancer:

  • The newly insured
  • The insured, procrastinator/rationalizer
  • The financially challenged

The goal of the Guidebook is to share what we know about reaching these hard-to-persuade groups using tested messages.

The 2017 Guidebook includes additional templates, tools and customized resources. (Note: Some versions of Internet Explorer create errors in the document. If you experience problems please use an alternate browser, such as Firefox or Google Chrome.)

The Hispanics/Latinos and Colorectal Cancer Companion Guide and Asian Americans and Colorectal Cancer Companion Guide introduce market research about the unscreened from these populations and include tested messages in Spanish and several Asian languages.

Use the following tools to help you promote and evaluate 80% by 2018 communications:

The Guidebook reviews what we know from market research about the unscreened and introduces and explains new tested messages. It also provides tools with the messages incorporated to get you started:

Our hope is that partners can take this research and messages provided in the Guidebook and make the message resonate with the target audiences even more by using their own creativity, innovation and spokespersons.

View the following webinars to learn more about the market research that went into this work, and the tools that are available.

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Colorectal cancer screening
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Screen for Life: National Colorectal Cancer Action Campaign

Screen for Life: National Colorectal Cancer Action Campaign is a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) campaign to increase colorectal cancer screening among men and women ages 50 or older. The campaign provides free print materials (fact sheets, brochures, postcards, etc.), TV and radio PSAs, social media posts and images, and other materials in English and Spanish to inform men and women about the importance of colorectal cancer screening. Campaign development is based on an extensive review of communication and behavioral science literature as well as focus group studies held throughout the U.S.

Evaluation: Since 1999, CDC has conducted more than 225 focus groups in 35 U.S. cities to assess knowledge, behaviors, and screening practices of the target audiences and test campaign messages and materials. Input also is sought from state health departments on the types of materials that would be most helpful to local efforts. The campaign estimates that as of June 2017, Screen for Life PSAs have generated more than 20 billion audience impressions (the number of times the PSAs have been seen or heard), worth more than $246 million in donated placements. Learn more in the Campaign Overview.

Permissions: Made publicly available online by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Visit the website to review the Usage Guidelines. Note that CDC allows state health departments and tribes/tribal organizations to add local information to printed materials and to the closing graphic of TV PSAs—e.g. “Brought to you by the Maryland Department of Public Health.” Screen for Life also provides CDC’s Colorectal Cancer Control Program grantees with specially adapted materials and other resources as needed.

Publication date: Launched in March, 1999; Regularly updated, most recently in 2017.

Post date: September 15, 2017

Contact: Submit comments, questions, and suggestions via web form.

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CDC replication manual
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New Hampshire Colorectal Cancer Screening Program Patient Navigation Model Replication Manual

The New Hampshire Colorectal Cancer Screening Program (NHCRCSP) patient navigation model has been highly effective in increasing the completion and quality of colonoscopy screening and surveillance among statewide underserved groups. Patients in this program, all of whom were navigated, were 11 times more likely to complete colonoscopy than non-navigated patients in a comparison group. Given this success, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the NHCRCSP worked together to develop a manual to help others replicate the model. The manual includes step-by-step instructions for implementing a screening navigation program, including a detailed navigation protocol, guidance on data collection, navigator training, and sample templates and tools.

Intended Audiences: Any organization that conducts colorectal cancer screening or administers a colonoscopy program may benefit from implementing this intervention. Organizations could include health systems, endoscopy centers, primary care practices (including Federally Qualified Health Centers), universities, state or local health departments, and grantee programs. This manual also may be useful for health care providers, pharmacy staff, and other community partners to clarify their roles in the intervention and how it benefits their patients.

Congratulations to former NCCRT Steering Committee member Dr. Lynn Butterly and to all the others who helped create this resource.

Evaluation: A rigorous evaluation was conducted, including a comparison of NHCRCSP-navigated patients to a similar group of non-navigated patients. Learn more on page 8 and in Appendix D. Evaluation results were also published in the journal Cancer.

Permissions: Made publicly available online through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Publication date: October 2016

Post date: September 18, 2017

Contact: Send comments, questions, and suggestions to NHPNManual@cdc.gov or NHCRCSP@hitchcock.org.

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stopcrc
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Screen to Prevent (STOP) Colon Cancer

The Screen to Prevent (STOP) Colon Cancer project works to raise colorectal cancer screening rates in Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) in California, Oregon, and Washington State using fecal immunochemical testing (FIT).

The five-year project evaluates the effectiveness of the program in real-life practice conditions and is led by scientists and physicians at Kaiser Permanente’s Center for Health Research, Group Health Research Institute, and OCHIN. The project is funded by the National Institutes of Health Common Fund Health Care Systems (HCS) Research Collaboratory program.

Visit the Materials section of the website to find a variety of downloadable educational materials, including wordless instructions for multiple FITs, reminder and results letters, clinic posters, and workflow job aid templates.

Evaluation: The project began with a pilot study that found significant improvements in FIT completion rates for clinics in the STOP intervention. Visit the Findings section of the website to learn more.

Permissions: Made publicly available online by Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research.

Publication date: 2014

Post date: September 20, 2017

Contact: Send comments, questions, and suggestions to Amanda.F.Petrik@kpchr.org.

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CHC manual
Download the 2014 Edition

Note: The NCCRT released a 2022 update to the Steps Guide in September 2022. The 2014 version is available for historical reference only. View the 2022 Steps Guide. 

Steps for Increasing Colorectal Cancer Screening Rates: A Manual for Community Health Centers

The NCCRT released a 2022 update to the Steps Guide in September 2022. 

This manual provides step-by-step instructions to help community health centers implement processes that will reduce physician workload and increase colorectal cancer screening. Important topics, such as conducting baseline screening rates, assessing capacity and preparing your team are covered. The goal of this manual is to offer practical advice for implementing expert-endorsed recommendations one step at a time.

The manual is organized into three primary sections: 1) An Introduction that provides information on the importance of colorectal cancer screening; 2) Steps to Increase Cancer Screening Rates, which maps out a plan for improving your screening rates and gives step by step instructions for doing so; and 3) The Appendices, which provides field-tested tools, templates, and resources to get you started.

We suggest that you use the manual in segments, focusing on the three or four pages of information you need at a time, and make good use of the appendices, which have several templates, tools, and resources to save you time.

If you use the live links throughout the manual, you can get back to where you were by pressing “Alt+Left Arrow” on a PC or “Command+Left Arrow” on a Mac.

View the September 11, 2014 webinar introducing the new manual.

The manual serves as a supplement to the existing How to Increase Colorectal Cancer Screening Rates in Practice: A Primary Care Clinician’s Evidenced based Toolbox and Guide.

 

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Make It Your Own
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Make It Your Own (MIYO)

Make It Your Own (MIYO) is an interactive website that allows users to print or create culturally appropriate educational materials in English and Spanish at no cost. MIYO-developed products are high quality, designed by graphic artists, and apply evidence-based strategies recommended by the Community Preventive Services Task Force in The Guide to Community Preventive Services (The Community Guide).

MIYO offers hundreds of images that vary by race, ethnicity, age, gender and location; messages targeted to specific populations, cultural groups and languages; product formats that include flyers, inserts, posters, postcards, question cards, and web banner ads; and support for health topics that include colorectal cancer screening, breast cancer screening, cervical cancer screening, HPV vaccination, tobacco cessation, and more. Many of MIYO’s colorectal cancer screening messages incorporate tested messages developed by NCCRT and the American Cancer Society found in the 80% by 2018 Communications Guidebook.

MIYO is a product of the Health Communication Research Laboratory (HCRL) at Washington University in St. Louis and Health Communication Impact, LLC.

Evaluation: MIYO uses evidence-based communication strategies that have been shown to work and that are recommended in The Community Guide. MIYO also systematically evaluates user data to create a “smart system” that recognizes which resources, designs, images and messages are most attractive to specific agencies.

Permissions: Made publicly available online by Washington University in St. Louis. Users must register to access the resource.

Publication date: Since 2007; updates made on an occasional basis

Post date: September 22, 2017

Contact: Submit comments, questions, and suggestions by web form.