The Effect of Formal Education on Ovarian Cancer and Clinical Trial Awareness Among Black and Latino US Women: The Promising Role of Annual Women’s Wellness Visits to Improve Health Literacy

Abstract

Abstract Background Ovarian Cancer (OC) is ranked as one of the deadliest women’s cancers in the United States. Due to non-specific symptoms, it is often misdiagnosed and detected late. The mortality rate is higher and increasing among Black women. In addition, Black women have poor rates of participation in clinical trials. Methods We conducted a survey study among Black and Latino US women to understand the factors influencing their understanding of genetic risks of OC, clinical trial awareness and ability to access a clinical trial. MiOra health educators developed a SurveyMonkey-based survey and administered it to 226 women between the ages of 18 and 65 anonymously in their communities in three large US cities: Houston, TX, Atlanta, GA and Los Angeles, CA. The data was analyzed using two-sided Fisher’s exact and Chi-square tests. Results Out of the 226 respondents 63.4% were 30 years of age or younger and 22.9% had lower education (defined as having completed high school education or less. Out of 109 respondents, 93 (85.3%) self-identified as Black or Latino. Age did not influence self-reported awareness of genetic risk for OC, clinical trials or how to locate a clinical trial (Table 1). Lower education women were significantly less likely to report being knowledgeable about the genetic risk factors of OC, clinical trials or locating clinical trials (Table 1). Thirty out of 48 (62.5%) responding lower education women and 118 out of 173 (68.2%) responding higher education women reported to have an annual provider visit (p > 0.05). Self-reported awareness on how to locate a clinical trial was low in both the lower education (3 out of 48, 6.2%) and higher education groups (34 out of 171, 19.9%, p <0.05, Table 1). Conclusions These results suggest that the level of formal education influences the Black and Latino women’s awareness of OC genetic risk factors, OC clinical trials and clinical trial access. However, even among college educated Black and Latino women only a small portion reported to know how to locate a clinical trial. Interestingly, both high and lower education Black and Latino women reported to comply with annual provider visits. These visits may be an opportunity to close the health-literacy disparities in OC and clinical trials for Black and Latino women.