Improving cancer knowledge and screening awareness: Test of a telephone interviewer intervention

Background. Appalachian respondents were surveyed about their knowledge of cancer and screening intentions in a pre/post research design. Methods. At baseline, 696 telephone interviews were conducted of randomly selected respondents. Half were randomly assigned to a control group and half were provided correct information to incorrect responses. Four months later, respondents were re-interviewed. Results. Provision of correct information did not produce major differences in the intervention group. Conclusions. Although the intervention was less effective than anticipated, the pilot test provided possible explanations/variables that educators may be able to control or incorporate as features in future studies.