Title: Firefighter Cancer Assessment and Prevention Study (CAPS) (2022-2025)

Funding: Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) EMW-2021-FP-00416

Principal Investigators: Judith Graber, PhD, MS; Sub-site PIs: Derrick Edwards, Ph.D., LPC-MHSP, NCC Tenn Tech Univ; Maria Koeppel, PhD NDRI

Project Coordinator: Samantha Metlitz, MPH

Goal

To understand and address why volunteer firefighters do not routinely implement evidence-based cancer prevention practices.

Specific Aims

  1. Document and describe current practices, barriers, and facilitators of cancer prevention among suburban and rural volunteer firefighters enrolled in CAPS.

  2. Promote the adoption of cancer prevention practices by compiling and distributing a flexible digital tool kit for volunteer fire departments.

  3. Conduct an exploratory randomized control trial in the third year to assess whether the delivery method of the tool kit impacts cancer control knowledge and practices.

Anticipated Impact

We will identify gaps in cancer prevention knowledge and practices among volunteer firefighters. We will develop a cancer prevention digital toolkit targeted for volunteer firefighters and evaluate how effectively this toolkit promotes cancer prevention knowledge and practices among volunteer firefighters. This toolkit will be a free cancer prevention resource volunteer firefighters can use to promote cancer prevention knowledge and practices at their departments.

Study Updates

  • The distribution of individual-level surveys and department-level surveys to gather baseline cancer prevention knowledge and practices has been completed.

  • A Beta version of the digital tool kit has been developed and is available online.

  • The exploratory randomized control trial will now be conducted as a quality improvement project.