Educating Adolescents to Reduce Cancer Risk
Previous literature points to adolescence and early childhood as critical periods for reducing cancer risk factors. Specifically, studies have shown that these ages are when behaviors such as alcohol and tobacco use are established, in addition to habits such as physical activity and diet. The timing of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine also falls around this period. However, previous risk-reduction interventions have focused mainly on risk-reduction for a single cancer at a time, such as lung cancer through smoking cessation campaigns.
In light of the singular focus of these previous studies, the authors developed an educational intervention spanning the many facets of cancer risk, including biology, environmental exposure, and structural factors. The aim of the intervention was to highlight different lifestyle changes that could be targeted during adolescence, such as the HPV vaccine, tobacco & alcohol use, physical activity, and diet. Researchers from the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health (CCCEH) worked in tandem with authors from the Northern Manhattan and South Bronx communities, in particular with long-standing community partner WE ACT for Environmental Justice (WE ACT) in developing this educational module.
The authors first held focus groups with community adolescents between 15 and 18 years old in order to learn about existing health priorities and the best ways to communicate cancer risk-reduction educational materials. From these focus groups, the authors grasped that individuals preferred receiving these educational materials in a school setting and via interactive media, among other findings. Following these focus groups, the researchers administered the intervention to more than 280 high school and college students, focusing on five lifestyle factors that can be acted upon in adolescence. These included: HPV vaccination, tobacco use, physical activity, alcohol use, and a healthy diet. The intervention included biological family history modules in order to further tie together the relationships between genetics, family history, carcinogens, and lifestyle.
The authors found that class discussions of risk factors at the individual, family, and community levels successfully highlighted the different risk reduction strategies available to participants. Furthermore, especially compared to previous studies focusing solely on individual-level risk factors, this educational module incorporated discussion of structural environmental exposure at a community level and highlighted the work that organizations such as WE ACT are leading. These findings demonstrate that novel curricula have the potential to decrease cancer burden at an earlier stage through a multi-level health approach. More information on this and similar educational modules is available through the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center.
The study was funded by the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS 1U01ES026122-03).
Zeinomar N, Grant-Alfieri A, Burke KR, de Hoz M, Tehranifar P, Walker DAH, Morton T, Shepard P, Herbstman JB, Miller RL, Perera F, Terry MB. Cancer Risk Reduction Through Education of Adolescents: Development of a Tailored Cancer Risk-Reduction Educational Tool. J Cancer Educ. 2021 Feb. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-020-01943-7.