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Celebrity Colon Cancer Screening Promotional Campaign

An Evidence-Based Practice

Description

The National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance, founded by NBC Today Show co-anchor Katie Couric, uses celebrity promotion campaigns to raise awareness of colon cancer. The campaigns focus on increasing awareness of the risk posed by colon cancer, and reducing the stigma associated with screening procedures. Celebrity spokespeople have included Vanessa Williams, Jimmy Smits, Diane Keaton, Morgan Freeman, and Terrence Howard. In March 2000, two years after the death of her husband to colon cancer at age 42, Katie Couric underwent a live, on-air colonoscopy on the Today Show. This event served as the cornerstone of a weeklong series promoting colon cancer awareness and endorsing colon cancer screening.

Goal / Mission

The goal of this campaign is to increase screening for colon cancer.

Results / Accomplishments

A population-based observational pre- and post-study compared colonoscopy utilization rates before and after Katie Couric's television series. The number of colonoscopies performed per physician per month by edoscopists increased significantly from 15.0 before the campaign to 18.1 after the campaign (p < 0.001). A significantly higher post-campaign colonoscopy rate was sustained for 9 months. There was also a trend toward an increase in the percentage of colonoscopies performed on women, from 43.4% to 47.4% (p = 0.054). Colonoscopy rates also increased significantly in managed care organizations, from 1.3 to 1.8 per 1000 members per month (p < 0.001).

About this Promising Practice

Organization(s)
Entertainment Industry Foundation National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance
Primary Contact
Entertainment Industry Foundation
National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance
1201 West 5th Street, Suite T-700
Los Angeles, CA 90017
(213) 240-3900
http://www.eifoundation.org/programs/eifs-national...
Topics
Health / Cancer
Health / Prevention & Safety
Art & Recreation / Entertainment & Media
Organization(s)
Entertainment Industry Foundation National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance
Source
Archives of Internal Medicine
Date of publication
Jul 2003
Date of implementation
2000
Location
USA
For more details
http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/163/...

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An Evidence-Based Practice meets the following HCI criteria:

  1. The program description includes at a minimum: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program implementation steps, and outcomes that have demonstrated program success in achieving the program goal in one or more localities.
  2. The results from an evaluation of the program include quantitative measures showing improvement in the outcome(s) of interest after the implementation of the program (i.e. increase in smoking cessation, not just the delivery of a smoking cessation program). The outcome measure(s) is/are compared at relevant time periods before and after the intervention or program implementation. Alternatively, the evaluation study compares the outcome(s) between an intervention group and an appropriate control group.
  3. The study is of peer-review quality and presents numbers in a scientific manner; measurements of precision and reliability are included (e.g. confidence intervals, standard errors), results from statistical tests show a significant difference or change in the outcome measure(s), and relevant point estimates and p-values are presented. Note: if the results from an evaluation of a program are presented in a scientific manner and the outcome measure is improved compared to the baseline measurement or the control group but the difference is not statistically significant, the practice is classified as effective and not evidence-based.
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