Background
The incidence of non-AIDS-defining cancers has increased significantly among persons living with HIV (PLHIV). Screening education is recommended.
Purpose
Social learning, minority stress, and cultural safety theories informed this pilot to assess the feasibility of a colorectal cancer screening intervention targeted to PLHIV, with additional tailoring for relevance to Native Hawaiians, a group with low participation in cancer screening.
Method
The targeted education included behavioral modeling and barriers counseling in a culturally safe environment. Using a 2-group, pre/posttest design, AIDS service organizations were randomized to culturally responsive or standard education. AIDS service organizations consumers recruited through venue-based promotions were the unit of analysis. Knowledge–attitudes–practices, fecal occult blood test screening completion, and intervention feasibility were measured.
Results
Treatment arm participants, regardless of ethnicity, adhered to fecal occult blood test instructions and achieved increases in screening knowledge, attitudes, and practices. Relevance and acceptability of the educational intervention were endorsed.
Discussion
The culturally responsive intervention was successful in this group of PLHIV. Additional tailoring may be needed to reach PLHIV who do not participate in organizational activities.
Conclusion/Translation to Health Education Practice
This culturally responsive intervention shows promise for efficacy testing in a broader PLHIV population. Constituent-involving strategies were central to its development and delivery.
Funding
The project described was supported by an award from the National Cancer Institute to ‘Imi Hale Native Hawaiian Cancer Network (U01CA11463005-S3) and by an award from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities to the University of Hawai‘i (U54MD007584). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.