A randomized controlled trial of two interventions to increase colorectal cancer screening among Hispanics on the Texas-Mexico border

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second and third leading cause of cancer death for Hispanic men and women, respectively. CRC can be prevented if precursors are detected early and removed and can be successfully treated if discovered early. While one-on-one interventions for increasing CRC screening (CRCS) are recommended, few studies specifically assess the effectiveness of lay health worker (LHW) approaches using different educational materials. To develop and evaluate the effectiveness of two LHW-delivered CRCS interventions known as Vale la Pena (VLP; "It's Worth It!") on increasing CRCS among Hispanics. The study design was a cluster randomized controlled trial with two treatment arms. Six hundred and sixty five Hispanics 50 years and older were recruited from 24 colonias (neighborhoods) in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of the Texas-Mexico border. The interventions were a small media print intervention (SMPI) (including DVD and flipchart), and a tailored interactive multimedia intervention (TIMI) delivered on tablet computers. A no intervention group served as the comparison group. Data were collected between 2007 and 2009 and analyzed between 2009 and 2013. Measures assessed CRCS behavior, self-efficacy, knowledge, and other psychosocial constructs related to CRCS and targeted through VLP. Among participants reached for follow-up, 18.9 % in the SMPI group, 13.3 % in the TIMI group, and 11.9 % in the comparison group completed CRCS. Intent-to-treat analysis showed that 13.6 % in the SMPI group, 10.2 % in the TIMI group, and 10.8 % in the comparison group completed CRCS. These differences were not statistically significant. Results indicated that there are no significant differences in CRCS uptake between groups.