Design of a Community-Based Lung Cancer Education, Prevention, and Screening Program

Uptake of low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) for lung cancer screening is extremely low. Efforts to promote screening are warranted, especially among disparate groups such as racial/ethnic minorities and those of lower socioeconomic status. This article describes the design and implementation strategies of the ongoing cancer-Community Awareness Access Research and Education (c-CARE) program. The purpose of c-CARE is to increase community awareness of lung cancer screening through education. Community health workers were trained to implement the intervention in 12 community sites. The Health Belief Model guided the evaluation and intervention development methods. Aims include changing participants’ knowledge, attitude, and beliefs related to lung cancer and increasing lung cancer early detection and prevention behaviors by identifying and connecting high-risk and/or nicotine-dependent individuals to LDCT screening and/or tobacco cessation services. If effective, these methods could model increased dissemination to other high-risk communities.