Combining science with art to educate and motivate patients prior to colorectal cancer screening

Abstract

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the US despite wide use of colonoscopy to prevent CRC and CRC-related mortality. Colonoscopy is used to identify and remove lesions that will lead to cancer, however, most deaths occur because lesions are not detected or completely removed during the procedure. Patients play a crucial role in the detection component of colonoscopy: the better the colon is prepared, the higher the chance of detection of all polyps and cancers. In general, patients are instructed to clean the colon by way of a paper or web-based form that lists the objective (scientific) steps involved; unfortunately this too often does not result in a well-prepared colon. Behavior is known to be heavily influenced by emotion. As the first phase of a smart education research project we created an artistic and instructional documentary in which patients engage with the educational content through emotional responses; i.e., we motivate patients to follow instructions by combining scientific with emotional aspects of CRC prevention including preparation of the colon prior to colonoscopy. In the second research phase we will test whether use of the documentary results in improved colon preparation.