Research Project #3, 2019–2024 “Test Up Now Education Program (TUNE-UP)”

Research Areas

  • Cancer Prevention & Control
  • Behavioral interventions
  • Community-engaged Research
  • Medical Anthropology Methods

Scientific Achievements

  • Developed cancer education interventions to improve screening for patients served by community health centers in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina (cervical, colorectal, and prostate cancer).
  • Conducted international research on cancer
  • prevention in Cusco, Peru and Quito, Ecuador.
  • Luque, J, Khaliq, M. (2024) Community-Engaged Approaches to Health Promotion and Social Marketing. In Social and Behavioral Foundations of Public Health, 3rd Edition, Jeannine Coreil, ed. Cognella Publishers.

Funding

RCMI Funding: U54MD007582, NIH/NIMHD

Other funding obtained with RCMI support:

  • R16GM149384 — NIH/NIGMS
  • Fulbright Scholar Program — U.S. Department of State

Scientific Advance

Effectiveness of a community health advisor colorectal cancer screening educational intervention on stool test completion in primary care patient population: a pragmatic randomized controlled trial Published in BMC Glob Public Health, Volume 3, 2025, PMCID: PMC12126889.
The behavioral clinical trial, “Test Up Now Education Program” (TUNE-UP) tested a community health advisor (CHA) intervention to increase stoolbased screening in patients of community health centers (CHC) in Florida. The two experimental arms were (1) an intervention group which received adapted “Screen to Save” CRC education, a tailored brochure, and CHA education; and (2) a control group which received the brochure only. At 12 months, data from 93 patients indicated completion of the stool test increased significantly in both study arms; however, at 3 months, there was greater screening participation among the intervention group. The trial demonstrated CHCs can increase CRC screening among African Americans who were not up to date in receiving recommended screening.
NIH/NIMHD #U54MD007582, NIH/NIGMS #R16GM149384, NCT0434001
Toggle Navigation