Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Impact of a Cancer Health Education Curriculum Among Milwaukee Public High School Students

Impact of a Cancer Health Education Curriculum Among Milwaukee Public High School Students In Milwaukee and nationwide, cancer incidence, late-stage diagnosis, and mortality are notably higher among some racial/ethnic populations. Cancer education has the potential to impact cancer burden and reduce cancer disparities. In particular, the addition of a service-learning component to academic curriculums has been shown to improve student learning as well as positively impact the surrounding community. This study implemented a cancer health education curriculum (CHEC) at a Milwaukee public high school with the goal of addressing cancer knowledge, fear and fatalism beliefs, and risk behaviors. The curriculum included interactive learning sessions and a service-learning final project. Five-hundred twenty-one students also completed pre- and post-surveys assessing cancer knowledge, fear and fatalism, risk behaviors, cancer-related communication, and a qualitative question asking what they hoped to gain (pre) or did gain (post) from the course. Results indicate (1) a significant improvement in cancer knowledge (p < 0.0001), (2) a decrease in cancer fear and fatalism (p < 0.0001), (3) an increase in fruit consumption (p < 0.0001), (4) a decrease in screen time (p = 0.0004), and (5) an increase in how often students spoke with their family about cancer (p < 0.0001). Qualitative data reflect important gains such as increased interest in sharing their knowledge about cancer with their community. Providing cancer education and leveraging a service-learning requirement led to notable changes in high school students’ cancer knowledge, fear and fatalism, and risk behaviors. Students also communicated more with family/friends about cancer. Such efforts could have broader implications for student, family, and community cancer burden. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Cancer Education Springer Journals

Impact of a Cancer Health Education Curriculum Among Milwaukee Public High School Students

Download PDF
8 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/springer-journals/impact-of-a-cancer-health-education-curriculum-among-milwaukee-public-qMxD7c0DCH
Publisher
Springer Journals
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) under exclusive licence to American Association for Cancer Education 2022. Springer Nature or its licensor holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
ISSN
0885-8195
eISSN
1543-0154
DOI
10.1007/s13187-022-02228-x
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

In Milwaukee and nationwide, cancer incidence, late-stage diagnosis, and mortality are notably higher among some racial/ethnic populations. Cancer education has the potential to impact cancer burden and reduce cancer disparities. In particular, the addition of a service-learning component to academic curriculums has been shown to improve student learning as well as positively impact the surrounding community. This study implemented a cancer health education curriculum (CHEC) at a Milwaukee public high school with the goal of addressing cancer knowledge, fear and fatalism beliefs, and risk behaviors. The curriculum included interactive learning sessions and a service-learning final project. Five-hundred twenty-one students also completed pre- and post-surveys assessing cancer knowledge, fear and fatalism, risk behaviors, cancer-related communication, and a qualitative question asking what they hoped to gain (pre) or did gain (post) from the course. Results indicate (1) a significant improvement in cancer knowledge (p < 0.0001), (2) a decrease in cancer fear and fatalism (p < 0.0001), (3) an increase in fruit consumption (p < 0.0001), (4) a decrease in screen time (p = 0.0004), and (5) an increase in how often students spoke with their family about cancer (p < 0.0001). Qualitative data reflect important gains such as increased interest in sharing their knowledge about cancer with their community. Providing cancer education and leveraging a service-learning requirement led to notable changes in high school students’ cancer knowledge, fear and fatalism, and risk behaviors. Students also communicated more with family/friends about cancer. Such efforts could have broader implications for student, family, and community cancer burden.

Journal

Journal of Cancer Education – Springer Journals

Published: Oct 17, 2022

Keywords: High school; Cancer education; Disparities; Service learning

References

  • Lack of reduction in racial disparities in cancer-specific mortality over a 20-year period
    Aizer, A; Wilhite, TJ; Chen, M-H
  • Cancer survival among US whites and minorities: a SEER (Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results) program population-based study
    Clegg, LX; Li, FP; Hankey, BF; Chu, K; Edwards, BK
  • Racial and ethnic disparities in cancer survival: the contribution of tumor, sociodemographic, institutional, and neighborhood characteristics
    Ellis, L; Canchola, AJ; Spiegel, D; Ladabaum, U; Haile, R; Gomez, SL
  • Breast and colorectal cancer survival disparities in southeastern Wisconsin
    Beyer, KM; Zhou, Y; Matthews, K
  • “Cancer—educate to prevent”—high-school teachers, the new promoters of cancer prevention education campaigns
    Barros, A; Moreira, L; Santos, H; Ribeiro, N; Carvalho, L; Santos-Silva, F
  • A brief educational intervention enhances basic cancer literacy among Kentucky middle and high school students
    Hudson, L; Samons, KM; Dicken, HE
  • Implementation of a school-based educational program to increase breast cancer awareness and promote intergenerational transmission of knowledge in a rural Mexican community
    Soto-Perez-De-Celis, E; Smith, DD; Rojo-Castillo, MP
  • A meta-analysis of the impact of service-learning on students
    Celio, CI; Durlak, J; Dymnicki, A
  • Fatalism among elderly African Americans: effects on colorectal cancer screening
    Powe, BD
  • A tailored prostate cancer education intervention for low-income African Americans: impact on knowledge and screening
    Ukoli, FA; Patel, K; Hargreaves, M
  • Development and implementation of a curriculum on cancer screening for small groups of Latino women
    Navarro, AM; McNicholas, LJ; Cruz, M
  • The cancer clear & simple story: developing a cancer prevention curriculum for rural Wisconsin through a community partnership
    Fredrick, CM; Linskens, RJ; Schilling, MA
  • Adolescent risk-taking, cancer risk, and life course approaches to prevention
    Santelli, JS; Sivaramakrishnan, K; Edelstein, ZR; Fried, LP
  • Association between diet during preadolescence and adolescence and risk for breast cancer during adulthood
    Mahabir, S
  • Effects of the sunny days, healthy ways curriculum on students in grades 6 to 8
    Buller, DB; Reynolds, KD; Yaroch, A
  • Cancer fatalism: deterring early presentation and increasing social inequalities?
    Beeken, RJ; Simon, AE; von Wagner, C; Whitaker, KL; Wardle, J
  • Knowledge and perceptions of colorectal cancer screening among urban African Americans
    Greiner, KA; Born, W; Nollen, N; Ahluwalia, JS
  • An intergenerational approach to prostate cancer education: findings from a pilot project in the southeastern USA
    Jackson, DD; Owens, OL; Friedman, DB; Hebert, JR