Colorectal cancer (CRC) affects all racial and ethnic groups, but African-Americans have the highest occurrence of CRC among all racial and ethnic groups in the US. Furthermore, CRC screening is underused among African-Americans. Various factors have been identified as barriers and facilitators to CRC screening among African-Americans. This presentation will inform participants about the background and significance of CRC screening in the African-American community, CRC treatment options, barriers and facilitators to CRC screening in this community and suggested strategies to improve screening rates. Participants will learn about CRC screening in the African-American community in the attempt to help minimize adverse health outcomes in this population and address the wider societal problem of health disparities in the US. Additionally, participants will have the opportunity to reflect on how health interventions can be more responsive to the cultural, ethnic, and social characteristics of affected populations.

Speaker, Anuli Uzoaru Njoku is a graduate of of Rutgers University and Boston University School of Public Health where she earned hoer Bachelors of Science in Public Health and Masters of Public Health. With interests in health disparities, international health, HIV/AIDS, and maternal and child health. Ms. Njoku is presently a Clinical Research Specialist in Medical Oncology at Thomas Jefferson University where she works closely with project management staff providing input data information from potential study participants with regard to colon cancer screening. Anuli also involved as a Research Assistant at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia with a nationwide study on the effect of exposures and personal characteristics on the risk of cancer in children. She also is a community health educator through the Capital Health Systems of Trenton, New Jersey where Anuli provides educational services to members of the Bucks County and Mercer County communities to address morbidity, mortality, wellness, and other trends in the community. In the past Ms. Njoku has been a Clinical Research Coordinator at New York's Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Department of Oncological Sciences, and a Program Coordinator with the HIV Prevention Community Planning Support and Development Initiative in New Brunswick, NJ. She has participated in fellowship programs through Africare in Johannesbourg, South Africa, the University of Zimbabwe School of Medicine, and the Rollins School of Public Health, Center for Disease Control and Prevention at Morehouse College's School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia. At present Anuli is a doctoral candidate at Drexel University School of Public Health where she is concentrating on Community Health and Prevention