Administrative Supplement to Cancer Center Support Grant to Strengthen NCI-Supported Community Outreach Capacity through CHE of the NON

Wayne State University, Detroit MI

Investigators

Linked publications, trials & patents

Abstract

Karmanos Cancer Institute (KCI) is an NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center serving a 46-county catchment area in Michigan (MI) that is home to 6.7 million residents. KCI's longstanding efforts to increase both engagement of catchment area residents in research and research impact was formalized with the appointment of an Associate Center Director for Community Outreach and Engagement (COE) in 2018 and the creation of the Office for Cancer Health Equity and Community Engagement (OCHECE) in 2017. The COE initiative has identified several priority populations, among which African Americans (AfAms) is the largest. There are approximately 1.17M AfAms in KCI's catchment area (representing the majority of AfAms in the state), with most residing in Southeast Michigan and the city of Detroit, where 78% of residents identify as AfAm. Engaging this population in cancer research and prevention/control efforts is essential. Increasing cancer clinical trial participation in this group is critical as incidence rates across major cancers among AfAms in Detroit and southeast MI are higher compared to not only whites in Michigan but AfAms nationwide, with similar trends for cancer mortality, according to the Metropolitan Detroit Cancer Surveillance System and the Michigan Cancer Surveillance Program. Increasing HPV vaccination is also a priority. According to the Michigan Care Improvement Registry County Immunization Report Card, HPV vaccination completion rates among the predominantly AfAm adolescent males and females of Detroit are 46% and 47.2% respectively, far lower than the Healthy People 2020 goal of 80%. We propose here to support two community health educators (CHEs) who will build upon our work completed as part of the 2019-2020 P30 supplement, ?NCI-Supported Community Outreach Capacity through Community Health Educators of the National Outreach Network? which, although dramatically disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, reached 150 individuals. Proposed work includes the continued delivery of two video interventions: 1) FACCTs (Facts about Cancer Clinical Trials) and 2) ACE (Advocates for Cancer Education), which focuses on HPV vaccination. ACE delivery will be further supported by the creation of the HPV Vaccine Community Coalition (HPV2C2) to amplify pro-vaccine community voices.