Current Projects and Programs | Community Outreach and Engagement

The office of Community Outreach and Engagement is actively working on many projects and programs!

Our different work can be found across our site but on this page we will highlight a few!

Please reach out to our office if you have questions about these projects or other projects at askCOE@unc.edu.

Access Design

Access Design: Community Engagement is part of the ONE UNC Clinical Research Initiative, a collaborative effort between UNC-Chapel Hill and UNC Health to transform the clinical research administrative processes to be more synergistic, efficient, and effective. The Access Design effort focuses on improving the administrative processes at UNC to optimize community-engaged research.

CAPRICORN

CAPRICORN is a joint initiative between the Carolina Cancer Screening Initiative (CCSI) and the Office of Community Outreach and Engagement. CCSI conducts research to determine effective methods for delivering cancer screening interventions (colon, cervical, breast, lung), particularly in underserved populations. Based on the evidence generated, CAPRICORN then builds the infrastructure and relationships with NC community partners to deliver best practices in cancer screening and ultimately expand the number of people reached.

Cancer Health Assets and Needs Assessment

Cancer Health Assets and Needs Assessment (CHANA) is a major, new data-driven initiative that will comprehensively describe the cancer burden in North Carolina, including factors that influence cancer patterns and outcomes, and especially the needs of cancer patients throughout the state and the resources available to support them.

North Carolina population characteristics
- Number of people in North Carolina
- Social determinants of Health (SDOH)
- Rural v. Urban residency
- Race and Ethnicity
- Sex and gender
- Languages spoken
- Ages
Cancer Risk Factors
- Primary prevention
- Diet
- Physical activity
- Knowledge and beliefs
- Tobacco and alcohol use
- Genetics
- Environmental Exposures

Healthcare Resources and Access
- Cost of Care
- Facilities and Hospitals
- Engagement and communications
- Transportation
- Healthcare workforce
- Health insurance
Cancer burden and Needs
- Screening and early detection
- Cancer incidence
- Cancer prevalence
- Cancer treatment and survivorship experience
- Survival and mortality
Local context
- Community assets and strengths
- Local languages, culture, and norms
State and National Context
- Policy, social and economic environment

The CHANA contains three phases and eventually will be a one-stop resource for downloadable, shareable, aggregate and deidentified data, including:

Collation and analysis of existing public datasets
In-depth analysis of other secondary data
Primary data collection

Recent article: Expanded community data project will improve understanding of cancer

Community Pilot Funding Program

The COE Office created the UNC Lineberger Community Pilot Funding Program to join with the community as allies to reduce cancer disparities in the state of North Carolina.

We seek to do so by addressing community-identified cancer needs through funding opportunities, training and technical assistance, and networking.

CREATE

The Cancer Research Equity & Advocacy Through Engagement (CREATE) Initiative is part of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center’s COE Office. We partner with community members, patients, and researchers to increase awareness of clinical trials & address challenges to joining a clinical trial for people with cancer. Our efforts focus on:

Engaging patients who are not fairly represented in clinical trials;
Educating and building awareness about clinical trial topics such as: informed consent & patient’s rights.
Answering questions about taking part in clinical trials, including helping patients talk with their provider;
Identifying and providing resources to address barriers to participating in a clinical trial.

For more information, visit the C.R.E.A.T.E. website.

Exploring Cancer Webinar Series

Exploring Cancer: Examining the Role of Biology, Race, Class, and Socioeconomics

An engaging and stimulating, semester-long webinar series taught by cancer biologists, physicians, public health experts, and other cancer specialists from NCCU, UNC-Chapel Hill, and NC A&T. Additionally, you will have the opportunity to potentially hear from cancer survivors. These hour-long webinars will be held during the Fall 2022 semester on Fridays at 11am, beginning in August. Come out and join us!

Behind cardiovascular disease, Cancer is the 2nd leading cause of deaths in the United States. What causes Cancer? Why have we not cured Cancer yet? What are some of the myths that surround Cancer care? Why do people of color seem to develop and die from Cancer at rates much higher than the majority of the population?

For questions or support, please contact the UNC Lineberger Cancer Network at 919-445-1000 or info@exploringcancer.org.

Lineberger Excellence in Advocacy Program

Cancer patients, survivors, caregivers and community members are invited to become advocates with our cancer center. Advocates work with staff and researchers to guide our programs and research studies.

How do advocates help?

Share thoughts and opinions on programs and research studies
Review patient materials to make sure they are easy to understand

Highlight issues that are most important to patients and their families
Examples of advocates at work at UNC Lineberger

For more information, visit the LEAP webpage.

Patient and Researchers Together (PART)

PART icon

Patients are PARTners in cancer research
At UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, patients are a PART of bringing new discoveries from the laboratory to the clinic by donating their tissue to research to help improve the lives of all cancer patients.

For more information, visit the PART webpage.

SAICEP

The Southeastern American Indian Cancer Health Equity Partnership (SAICEP) is a unique collaboration initiated in July 2021 by the Community Outreach and Engagement teams at the NCI Comprehensive Cancer Centers at Duke, UNC Lineberger and Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, with a focus on understanding and addressing the cancer-related health needs of American Indian communities in our catchment areas and beyond.

The partnership offers culturally competent research, education and community engagement for American Indian tribal communities. Tribal and community organizations and leaders, as well as clinical and academic institutions are encouraged to be a part of our efforts.

For more information, visit the SAICEP website.