Community Outreach and Engagement

Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville TN

Investigators

Linked publications, trials & patents

Abstract

CCSG COMPONENT 005 – COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC) is located in a region with some of the highest cancer incidence and mortality rates in the US. As the only NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center serving both adult and pediatric populations in Tennessee (TN), VICC encompasses a geographically wide and demographically diverse catchment area of 123 counties across TN, western Kentucky (KY), and northern Alabama (AL) from which 90% of VICC cancer patients currently are drawn. Seventy of the 123 counties (57%) are classified as rural, in which 25% of the catchment area population lives. VICC Community Outreach and Engagement (COE), under the leadership of Associate Director Pamela Hull, PhD (CO), integrates with VICC Research Programs and administrative initiatives to reduce the cancer burden and disparities within the catchment area and beyond. In a bi-directional manner, leveraging relationships with patients and community stakeholders, COE obtains input from the community on priorities for research, cancer control and care and works with VICC research programs and community partners to bring those prioritized initiatives out to the community. The specific aims of COE are to: 1) Assess and prioritize cancer-related needs and opportunities in the catchment area; 2) Inform and facilitate programmatic research that is responsive to identified cancer-related needs and community-driven priorities; and 3) Promote the implementation and dissemination of evidence-based cancer prevention, control and care. Community-driven priorities identified through COE include cancer prevention initiatives, improved access to care through technology, holistic treatment and support, implementation of evidence-based practice and policy, advancing discoveries, and research advocacy. VICC conducts basic, clinical and population science research that addresses catchment area needs and aligns with these community-driven priorities. COE staff collaborate with partners to meet evolving community-identified needs through a variety of collaborative community outreach activities. Working together with partners and stakeholders, VICC community-informed research and cancer control activities synergistically contribute to empowering healthy and cancer literate communities in our catchment area and beyond. The impact of these efforts is already evident in improved practices at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) and affiliated sites, including newly available tobacco screening/counseling, enhanced patient navigation, expanded reach of lung cancer screening and improved adherence to breast, colorectal and cervical cancer screening guidelines, HPV vaccination and inherited cancer screening. Moving forward, focus will be placed on metrics of increased accruals to research studies; improvements in cancer- related knowledge, attitudes and behavior; and expanded implementation of evidence-based guidelines and health policies. Together with community partners, VICC positively impacts the catchment area by enabling a systems approach to cancer, advancing fundamental research and translating discoveries from the bench to the clinic, community and population in the catchment area, nationally, and globally.