Enhancing Community Understanding of Cancer Clinical Trials Through Peer Education.

Authors

Erica Phillips, Vrushali Thakkar, Evelyn Taiwo, Denise Howard, Margaux Kanis, Claudia Duarte, Orysya Soroka, Onyinye D Balogun

Published in

Journal of cancer education : the official journal of the American Association for Cancer Education. Jun 15, 2026. Epub Jun 15, 2026.

Abstract

Limited awareness and persistent misconceptions about cancer clinical trials contribute to low participation among racially, ethnically, and linguistically diverse populations. Community-based educational strategies may help address these gaps, particularly when delivered by trusted peer educators. We evaluated a peer-led, multilingual cancer education workshop designed to improve cancer knowledge and attitudes toward clinical trials. Trained peer health educators delivered 2-hour workshops in English, Spanish, or Arabic across community-based settings. Participants completed matched pre-post surveys administered immediately before and after the session. Outcomes included cancer knowledge (7-item scale) and attitudes toward clinical trials measured using the Attitudes to Randomized Trial Questionnaire (ARTQ). Paired t-tests and McNemar tests were used to assess pre-post changes. A total of 284 participants with matched pre-post data were included in the analysis. Participants were racially and ethnically diverse, and most attended workshops delivered in English or Spanish. Mean cancer knowledge scores increased from 3.01 to 3.57 (mean difference: 0.56, 95% CI: 0.41-0.72). The proportion of participants reporting positive attitudes toward clinical trials increased across all seven ARTQ items (p < .001 for all comparisons), with the largest gains observed in willingness to consider participation in randomized studies. A brief, peer-led, community-based educational workshop was associated with short-term improvements in cancer knowledge and attitudes toward clinical trials. These findings suggest that culturally and linguistically tailored education delivered by peer educators may be a feasible strategy to improve understanding of clinical trials in underserved communities. Further research is needed to assess longer-term outcomes and behavioral impacts.

PMID:
42295606
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 15 Jun 2026.

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