A cancer education program for men

Includes bibliographical references (pages 33-34)A cancer education program was developed to reach small groups of men in business and industry. A total of nine pilot programs were implemented in four engine companies of the Los Angeles City Fire Department. Although attendance was voluntary, a total of 105 men participated in the programs and evaluations, which consisted of a transparency presentation designed by the author followed by a film focusing on cancer in men. Topics covered included detection methods, cancer quackery and safeguards. The program design encouraged two-way communication between speaker and audience.\ud Three purposes for doing this project were formulated: to increase the level of knowledge about cancer facts in the target population, to find out how men feel about the need for cancer education programs, and to design a program that could be used by the American Cancer Society for its employee education programs.\ud A questionnaire was used as the instrument to collect data regarding cancer knowledge in the target group before, immediately after, and one month after the cancer education program. Responses to the questionnaire dealing with knowledge criteria were evaluated by comparing the differences between percentages of correct responses before, immediately after, and one month after the education program.\ud Individual item analysis showed that the program was very effective in increasing knowledge.\ud Use of the feedback sheet enabled the author to revise program content, length, and materials after each program, making the final pilot program more interesting and informative.\ud A large proportion of the participants felt that the program was good and recommended that more like it be done to reach more men with this life-saving information.\ud Suggestions for future programs and study were made, and a number of guidelines for reproducibility are included within the text of this project