Colorectal Cancer Control in Appalachian Churches

The purpose of this project is to conduct a community-based intervention and evaluate the independent and combined effects of two intervention strategies on primary and secondary prevention of colorectal cancer (CRC) among members of rural Appalachian churches. The sampling frame consists of all of the churches in a 7 county area of western West Virginia. Eligible churches will have at least 180 active members, will not share a common pastor, and will have no CRC control activities. Using a 2x2 experimental design, churches will be divided into two separate clusters, those with and without an existing parish nurse program. Then churches from each cluster will be randomized to one of two conditions, a natural helper or a control condition.