CANCER PREVENTION LINE -- AN AUTOMATED TELEPHONE SOURCE

PHASE I TESTS THE FEASIBILITY OF COMBINING SEVERAL TELEPHONE TECHNOLOGIES IN NEW WAYS USING A MULTIMEDIA APPROACH TO PRESENT CANCER PREVENTION/HEALTH PROMOTION TO ADULTS FROM DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS. TECHNICAL INNOVATION COMES FROM APPLYING THESE TECHNOLOGIES, E.G. VOICE PROCESSING, FAX-STORE-AND-FORWARD, AND TDD (TELECOMMUNATIONS DEVICES FOR THE DEAF), TO FUNCTION IN A SEAMLESS, COHERENT MANNER. OUTCOMES ARE (1) A MULTIMEDIA PROTOTYPE TELEPHONE INFORMATION SERVICE ACCEPTABLE TO MANY GROUPS INCLUDING POOR AND DISABLED AND (2) AN OPTIMUM STRATEGY FOR MUSTERING BROAD COMMUNITY SUPPORT FOR THE SERVICE. THE HYPOTHESIS: AN AUTOMATED SERVICE CAN FIND ACCEPTANCE AMONG DIVERSE GROUPS IF IT GIVES IMMEDIATE ANSWERS, IS USER-FRIENDLY, AND HAS A VERY LOCAL FOCUS. PHASE I WORK INCLUDES (1) IDENTIFYING WORKABLE COMBINATIONS/FORMATS OF TECHNOLOGIES FOR PRESENTING INFORMATION; (2) DEVELOPING INFORMATION (CONTENT) THAT THE TARGET AUDIENCE WILL FIND RELEVANT AND UNDERSTANDABLE; (3) PROMOTING, TESTING AND EVALUATING THE PROTOTYPE USING A COMMUNITY TEAM APPROACH, WITHIN A DESIGNATED AREA AND TIME. LONG-TERM OBJECTIVES ARE TO CREATE TAILORED MODELS THAT (1) TARGET SPECIFIC AUDIENCES, (2) ARE LOCAL IN FOCUS, AND (3) CAN BE EASILY ADAPTED BY GOVERNMENT AND PRIVATE ENTITIES AS FREE-STANDING PROGRAMS OR ADD-ONS TO EXISTING CANCER/HEALTH EDUCATION PROGRAMS.