Integrating cancer risk assessment into a community health nursing course

Background. Because the state of Maryland has the fourth highest cancer death rate among the states and the District of Columbia, a community-based hospital identified the need to develop a cancer prevention, screening, and education program for the community at large and the employees. Subsequently, as a prerequisite for graduation, Community Health Nursing Students (CHN) conducted a project with the goal of assessing hospital employee cancer risk status and presenting a hospital-based cancer education program. Method. Data regarding employee cancer risk status were gathered using a modified 31-item cancer-risk-assessment guide; risk factors for cancers of the lung, colon- rectum, skin, prostate, breast, and cervix were identified. Results. Overall, the employees were at a high to moderate risk of developing cancers of the cervix, followed by cancers of the skin and breast, and at lowest risk of developing cancer of the lung, followed by cancers of the prostate and colon- rectum. Conclusion. The findings provided baseline data for the development of employee-focused cancer education and screening programs.