2023 ACMG Annual Clinical Genetics Meeting Digital Edition: Poster Gallery-Establishment and Evaluation of a Cancer Family History Genomics Training for Community Health Workers

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This document summarizes the implementation and evaluation of a cancer family history (CFH) training program for community health workers (CHWs). The study aimed to improve CHW knowledge and behaviors related to CFH-based cancer prevention education and services.<br /><br />The evaluation of the training program involved CHW participants completing surveys before the training, immediately after, and three months later. There were no significant differences in sociodemographic variables among the three groups. The results showed that CHW participants demonstrated an improvement in CFH knowledge and practice of CFH-based cancer prevention education and services at the three-month follow-up.<br /><br />The training program is significant for public health and has the potential to be adapted by others to train CHWs both within and beyond Texas. The trained CHWs continue to provide CFH-based cancer prevention education and services to their local communities.<br /><br />CFH is a valid genomics tool for cancer prevention, but it is under-utilized. CHWs are recognized as the best positioned public health professionals to promote the usage of CFH. However, limited genomics knowledge and lack of training hinder CHWs from providing CFH-based cancer prevention education and services.<br /><br />The training program consisted of face-to-face workshops administered by CHW instructors in various locations across Texas. The curriculum was based on national guidelines and competency frameworks. The content covered CFH definitions, assessment methods, lifestyle recommendations, and the significance of CFH in cancer prevention. The training was conducted in both English and Spanish, and different learning styles were implemented to optimize the learning experiences of CHWs.<br /><br />Demographic data of the CHW participants is provided, including age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, practice setting, years of practice, and years after graduation.<br /><br />After the training, CHWs reported that the content was valuable, the difficulty level was appropriate, the training materials were helpful, the order of content presentation was appropriate, and the training was well-organized. At the three-month follow-up, most CHWs stated that the training motivated them to learn more about CFH and other genomics-related knowledge in the future.

Asset Subtitle

Presenting Author - shuo feng, MEd; Co-Author - Haocen Wang, Ph.D.; Co-Author - Weiju Chen, Ph.D.; Co-Author - Shixi Zhao, Ph.D.; Co-Author - Lei-Shih Chen, Ph.D.;

Meta Tag

Clinical History

Education

Public Patient and Professional Education

Risk Assessment

Co-Author Haocen Wang, Ph.D.

Co-Author Weiju Chen, Ph.D.

Co-Author Shixi Zhao, Ph.D.

Co-Author Lei-Shih Chen, Ph.D.

Presenting Author shuo feng, MEd

Keywords

cancer family history

training program

community health workers

CFH-based cancer prevention education

CFH-based cancer prevention services

evaluation

genomics tool

face-to-face workshops

demographic data

motivation