Formative research for the design and implementation of a strategy to increase colorectal cancer screening in the workplace in Argentina

Abstract: The workplace has great potential to disseminate information and implement health promotion activities such as cancer prevention and early detection. Due to the challenges of deploying health interventions in this setting, formative studies are needed to adjust the design and implementation of successful strategies. To inform the intervention’s design and implementation and improve the adherence rate to screening with fecal occult blood test in a workplace in Argentina, a formative study was conducted to identify potential barriers and facilitators. The formative study adopted a qualitative methodological design. Interviews were held with 10 individuals in charge of key areas in the institution where the main study was conducted, besides 8 focus groups with workers over 50 years of age. Challenges were identified at the institutional level for the intervention’s implementation, such as workers’ geographic dispersion and the complexity of the institution’s flowchart, as well as at the population level, such as low knowledge about colorectal cancer and diagnostic tests and low risk perception. The facilitators featured the intervention’s acceptability and the availability of human and material resources to proceed with the intervention, such as institutional communications channels for disseminating the information and logistics for distribution of diagnostic kits. The formative study allowed identifying resources and potential barriers that informed the intervention’s design and implementation.

摘要：职场场景在传播信息、开展癌症预防与早期筛查等健康促进活动方面拥有巨大潜力。鉴于在此类场景中部署健康干预措施面临诸多挑战，需通过形成性研究优化成功策略的设计与实施路径。为指导阿根廷某职场环境下粪便隐血试验(fecal occult blood test)筛查干预的设计与实施，并提升该筛查的依从率，本研究开展了一项形成性研究，以识别潜在的阻碍因素与促进因素。
本项形成性研究采用质性研究方法设计，访谈对象包括主研究所在机构的10名关键领域负责人，以及8组针对50岁以上职场员工的焦点小组。
研究识别出干预实施面临的两类挑战：机构层面存在员工地域分散、机构流程复杂度高等问题；人群层面则表现为结直肠癌及诊断检测相关知识匮乏、风险感知水平较低。
促进因素则包括干预措施的可接受性，以及开展干预所需的人力与物力资源保障，例如用于信息传播的机构沟通渠道，以及诊断试剂盒发放的后勤支持。
本项形成性研究明确了可为干预设计与实施提供参考的资源与潜在障碍。