e-Motivación: Developing and Pilot Testing an App to Improve Latinos' Screening Colonoscopy Rates

Overview

Among Latinos, a fast growing and underserved population, Colorectal Cancer (CRC) is the third leading cause of cancer death in men and in women. Compared to non-Latino whites, Latinos are less likely to be diagnosed with localized CRC and more likely to be diagnosed with advanced stage disease. Of the recommended CRC screening tests, a colonoscopy allows for both the detection and removal of precancerous and cancerous polyps. Although screening colonoscopies can detect and prevent CRC, more than half of Latinos have not received a screening colonoscopy within the recommended time frame (one screening colonoscopy per ten years). The purpose of this study is to develop and begin to test an electronically-delivered motivational interviewing progressive web application (e-MI app), called Motívate. The Motívate app will be offered in both English and Spanish to patients who self-identify as Latino/a/x, after they receive a referral for a screening colonoscopy.

A pilot study will be conducted to begin to examine the efficacy of the Motívate app for improving screening colonoscopy uptake among Latinos. Participants (N=80) will be randomly assigned, stratified for language, to one of two groups: Motívate app (N=40) or general health information video (N=40). The results of the pilot study will inform power calculations for a future randomized clinical trial that will formally test the efficacy of the app. If this program of research proves the Motívate app efficacious there is a strong argument to integrate the app into standard clinical care in order to reduce the overall burden of CRC in the growing and vulnerable Latino community.