Web-Based Delivery of an Effective Church-Based Intervention Program to Promote Cancer Screening (Community-based Health litEracy-focused intervention for breast and cervical Cancer Control) Among Korean Immigrant Women in the United States: Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract Background Women with limited English proficiency continue experiencing an unequal cancer burden. Non-White immigrant women present with more advanced breast and cervical cancer than non-Hispanic Whites, attributed to significant cultural barriers as well as low health literacy in attempting to navigate the United States health care system for cancer screening. Community-based Health litEracy-focused intervention for breast and cervical Cancer Control (CHECC-uP) was an in-person, community health worker-led intervention, addressing both cultural and health literacy barriers through health literacy education and follow-up counseling with navigation assistance. The in-person program was tested in a large cluster-randomized trial and yielded high efficacy in promoting mammogram and Papanicolaou test screening in Korean-speaking women. With over 90% of Americans now having online access, the in-person program was adapted to web-based delivery. Objective This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of the web version of the intervention—e-CHECC-uP. Methods A randomized pilot trial was conducted. A total of 40 women were enrolled and randomized (20 per arm). The study intervention consisted of web-based health literacy education followed by phone counseling with navigation assistance. Study assessments were done at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months. The study’s primary outcomes were cancer screening behaviors verified by medical record review. Upon completion of final study assessments, intervention participants were invited to join postintervention interviews. Results In total, 34 women (intervention: n=15; control: n=19) completed the assessment at 6 months, yielding a retention rate of 85%. The intervention participants were highly satisfied with e-CHECC-uP with a median rating of 8 on a 10-point scale. Between-group differences in screening rates were 34.6%, 47.9%, and 37.5%, respectively, for completion of the mammogram, Papanicolaou test, and both at 6 months. Conclusions We achieved a high retention rate and high participant satisfaction. Although the study was not powered for significance testing, the e-CHECC-uP intervention resulted in large group differences across all cancer screening outcomes in the pilot sample. Online technology can help address multiple logistical barriers associated with in-person intervention delivery. Our findings suggest that web-based delivery of CHECC-uP may be used to promote cancer screening among immigrant women with limited English proficiency, as a promising avenue to ultimately reduce health disparities in underserved communities.