Co-Design and Pilot Testing of Peer-led Community Outreach to Improve Equity, Veteran-Centeredness and Uptake of Lung Cancer Screening

Co-design will be implemented to develop an innovative, Veteran-centered intervention (Vet Peer Connects program) that meets the needs of Black Veterans. Next, a feasibility pilot test of the Vet Peer Connects program will be conducted. The Peer will lead up to 5 group lung cancer screening orientations in community partner sites to reach up to 40 lung cancer screening eligible Black Veterans. The Peer will provide one-to-one tailored support to up to 15 Veterans (coaching, goal-setting, navigation to access Veterans Affairs lung cancer screening). Then, the study team will evaluate program delivery through ethnographic observation and field notes, Peer activity logs, and weekly check-ins between the study team and Peer. Investigators will interview Veteran participants, community partners, and lung cancer screening clinical staff to explore feasibility and acceptability of the Vet Peer Connects program and solicit suggestions for improvement. Preliminary data on the outcomes of the Vet Peer Connects program will be collected by study team through administering surveys to assess change in Social Cognitive Theory constructs, and extracting lung cancer screening uptake and tobacco treatment 3 months post enrollment from VA's Corporate Data Warehouse. This work will inform a subsequent multi-site stepped-wedge trial to assess effectiveness, implementation, and cost of the Vet Peer Connects program in VA lung cancer screening sites and neighboring branches of the National Association for Black Veterans.