Community Outreach and Engagement

University Of Chicago, Chicago IL

Investigators

Linked publications, trials & patents

Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT - COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT COMPONENT (COE) The mission of University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center (UCCCC) Community Outreach and Engagement Component (COE) is to promote equitable cancer care and inform, facilitate, and disseminate relevant research along the cancer continuum in our diverse catchment area in line with UCCCC’s Strategic Plan, through direct engagement of its community of stakeholders and data-driven programs. The COE team achieves this mission through activities that: (1) cultivate and maintain strong bidirectional research partnerships between community stakeholders, and UCCCC programs and members; (2) advocate for local and state cancer policy initiatives; and (3) engage community and academic partners in innovative education and care delivery programs. The UCCCC catchment area encompasses five contiguous counties: Cook County, IL (with the densely populated city of Chicago); DuPage County, IL; Will County, IL; Lake County, IL; and Lake County, IN (in northwest Indiana). These 5 urban counties represent 77% of new patients seen at UCCCC and 73% of all accruals to treatment trials, with a population of 8 million (48% non-Hispanic white, 23% Hispanic, 19% Black, 8% Asian). This catchment area was defined to best support specific local geographic areas (communities, neighborhoods, and zip codes) which have high need due to elevated cancer incidence and mortality. Specific racial and ethnic groups continue to have disproportionate burdens of cancer incidence and mortality due to social deprivation (persistent poverty/adverse social determinants of health), risk behaviors, environmental exposures, and known barriers to cancer prevention, control, treatment, and survivorship. COE uses a data-driven process engaging community and UCCCC leaders to establish priorities in cancer prevention and treatment. Our priorities include: (1) reducing breast, colorectal, prostate, lung, and viral-mediated (cervix, oropharyngeal, liver) cancers; (2) addressing modifiable risks (e.g., tobacco use, obesity, cancer screening, environmental factors such as air quality and chemical exposures); and (3) addressing infrastructure needs (navigation and enrollment in clinical trials). These areas align with the UCCCC Strategic Plan, and COE leads community and internal UCCCC dissemination of information regarding priorities. COE partners with UCCCC basic, clinical, translational, and population sciences researchers and with community members through formalized programs to facilitate research that is responsive to these priority areas. Bidirectionality is a key guiding principle for the COE team and the UCCCC Strategic Plan and is integrated when planning activities. Over the next funding period, COE will continue to lead, evaluate, and adapt initiatives to best support community- driven priorities through sustained bidirectional partnerships, improving infrastructure for data analysis and visualization and continuing to nurture UCCCC members’ research that are responsive to priorities.