CANCER PREVENTION ON COMPUTER FOR MINORITY CHILDREN

THE PURPOSE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEMONSTRATE COMPUTERIZED INSTRUCTION ON CANCER PREVENTION FOR MINORITY AND LOW SES CHILDREN. BOTH RACE AND LOWER SES ARE ASSOCIATED WITH ELEVATED CANCER MORTALITY RATE; LACK OF EARLY DETECTION IS A KEY FACTOR. TEACHING CHILDREN IN SCHOOL REACHES THE GREATER NUMBER OF LOWER SES AND MINORITIES WITH INFORMATION ABOUT CANCER PREVENTION AND EARLY DETECTION BOTH CHILDREN AND THEIR FAMILIES. THE MULTIFACETED PACKAGE INCLUDES FUN, MOTIVATING ACTIVITIES TO INFORM CHILDREN ABOUT THE FACTS AND TO BUILD POSITIVE SELF ESTEEM BE ASSOCIATING "BEING COOL" WITH GOOD HEALTH HABITS. TEACHER, PARENT AND CLUB LEADER GUIDES ARE PROVIDED. THE SYSTEM IS DESIGNED TO BE INCORPORATED INTO THE ACADEMIC CURRICULUM, WITH ELEMENTS SUITED FOR SCIENCE, MATH AND READING (INTEGRATED EDUCATION) AND GROUP WORK (COOPERATIVE EDUCATION). IN PHASE I, THE SYSTEM WILL BE TESTED ON MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS IN AN URBAN SCHOOL SYSTEM, EVALUATED BY STUDENTS AND TEACHERS. IN PHASE II, THE SYSTEM WILL BE REVISED AND EXTENDED TO MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL LEVELS. THE PRODUCTS WILL BE MARKETED TO SCHOOLS, COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, SOCIAL WORKERS, AND HEALTH SUPPORT GROUPS.