The process was competitive, as there were ten proposals. The Grant Review Committee was uniformly impressed by the quality and innovativeness, important questions and relevant topics of the proposals submitted. Spanning a broad spectrum of diversity interests, the proposals attest to the varied and meaningful scholarship by TC students.
Ultimately, two applicants were selected as grant recipients with a $3,000 award and one other applicant received a $1,000 honorable mention award.
HBS GRANT RECIPIENT
Department: Health & Behavior Studies
Proposal Title: Assessment of the Educational Needs of Uninsured Hispanic Women in Upper Manhattan Regarding Colorectal Cancer Screening with the Fecal Immunochemical Test
The third most commonly diagnosed form of cancer, colorectal cancer (CRC) is the leading cause of cancer death in both men and women in the United States today. Yet, according to the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, less than half of Americans over the age of 50 have ever been screened for the disease. This may be, in part, due to the perceived inconveniences of the procedure itself. Of the many options available for screening, only fecal occult blood testing (FOBT) has been proven to reduce mortality by as much as 33%. A newer procedure called the fecal immunochemical test (FIT) was found to be just as effective as FOBT at identifying occult blood, and carries some additional advantages in terms of sampling and no dietary restrictions prior to testing. To date, no studies have focused on Hispanic or medically uninsured populations in the United States, which, for a multitude of reasons, are very much in need of education about CRC screening. Thus, this study proposes to identify the educational needs surrounding the use of FIT colorectal cancer screening among uninsured. Using a prospective cohort study design, women will be queried about their knowledge, behaviors, beliefs, attitudes and other measures related to cancer and colorectal cancer screening at baseline. Hypothesized psychological, behavioral, social, health-related, and environmental factors as well as demographic information will then be compared between women who complete the colorectal cancer screening and those who do not within 8 weeks of distribution of the test kit.