Listening to Rural Communities: Virtual Health Assistants for Cancer Prevention

Short Project Description

Community voices matter. By listening to rural adults, we learned how virtual health assistants can make cancer screening messages more friendly, trustworthy, and useful for families.

Community Abstract

Colorectal cancer (often called CRC) is a serious disease, but regular screening can catch it early and save lives. In the United States, some participants are less likely to get screened, which can lead to worse health outcomes. Our team wanted to learn how technology could help close this gap. We asked rural adults, ages 50–73, to try out a virtual health assistant (VHA). This VHA is a friendly character on a mobile phone that can share health information and encourage people to get screened for cancer. We held 28 group discussions with community members who tested the VHA. People told us they wanted the VHA to feel friendly, knowledgeable, and trustworthy. Some participants were especially open to hearing about their personal risk of cancer from the VHA. They also said it was important to share the VHA’s messages with younger family members, so they could learn about screening early. By listening to these voices, our study shows how technology can be shaped to meet the needs of different communities. These insights will help us design better tools and messages that support cancer prevention and reduce health differences between groups.

Original Article

Vilaro, M. J., Wilson-Howard, D. S., Neil, J. M., Tavassoli, F., Zalake, M. S., Lok, B. C., ... & Krieger, J. L. (2024). Open Access: A Subjective Culture Approach to Cancer Prevention: Rural Black and White Adults' Perceptions of Using Virtual Health Assistants to Promote Colorectal Cancer Screening. In Emergent Health Communication Scholarship from and about African American, Latino/a/x, and American Indian/Alaskan Native Peoples (pp. 67-78). Routledge.