Colorectal Cancer Screening Intervention for Family Members of Colorectal Cancer Patients

First-degree relatives of individuals with CRC are at increased-risk of developing colorectal cancer (CRC). For these increased-risk individuals current guidelines recommend initiating CRC screening a decade earlier than for those at average-risk for CRC; thus, starting at age 40, or 10 years younger than the age at which the affected relative was diagnosed with CRC. In our prior study of 504 at-risk siblings of patients with a history of CRC, diagnosed at age less than 56, we found that approximately 44% of these siblings were not compliant with CRC screening guidelines. Guided by the Transtheoretical, Health Belief and Dual Process models, our prior study identified key attitudinal and non-attitudinal predictors of screening behaviors and intentions.

This proposed study will use these results to guide the development and evaluation of interventions to improve CRC screening acceptance. The proposed study will evaluate the impact of three interventions to promote CRC screening among siblings in this increased-risk group, who are not currently compliant with CRC screening guidelines: 1) a generic print intervention; 2) a tailored print intervention, and; 3) a tailored print plus tailored telephone counseling intervention.

Siblings in the generic print condition will receive a pamphlet about colorectal cancer screening published by the Center for Disease Control. Siblings in the tailored print and telephone counseling conditions will receive messages tailored specifically to their responses on targeted attitudinal and non-attitudinal measures. Five hundred twenty four siblings meeting eligibility criteria will be randomly assigned to one of the three conditions after a baseline interview assessing CRC screening behaviors and attitudes, and it is anticipated that 427 siblings will complete the study. For siblings in the tailored conditions, baseline information will be utilized to design the tailored messages. After receiving the intervention information, participants will be interviewed again six months later regarding CRC screening behaviors and attitudes to assess the impact of the intervention.