Pilot Outreach Project: Planning for Sustainability of Evidence-based Interventions

Partnership

Dr. Laura Linnan (UNC) andDr. Jonathon Livingston (NCCU) serve as Co-Project Leaders for the NCCU/UNC Outreach Core and Ms. Amber Burgin serves as Project Manager and Community Health Educator
(NCCU) along with Ms. Veronica Carlisle (UNC) and Ms Carlisle, MPH).

Cancer Disparity

Because the basic purpose of the Outreach Core is to support cancer prevention research projects funded by the U-54, the core will address the cancer disparities targeted by those research projects. In addition, in its collaboration with the NCl’s National Outreach Network, the Outreach Core will address cancer disparities in general as well as any specific disparities that the network targets with its prevention materials and messages.

Abstract

In an effort to reduce cancer health disparities in racial and ethnic minorities, the NCCU/UNC LCCC Outreach Core will engage in community-based outreach efforts connected to cancer prevention research projects. We will build on long-standing partnerships between UNC and NCCU that continue to engage minority investigators and other key stakeholders in community-based intervention research to address cancer disparities. With ongoing guidance from the Partnership Community Advisory Board, our outreach strategy will include multiple levels of activities and intervention efforts consistent with the Social Ecological Framework (SEF) and grounded in principles of community-based participatory research (CBPR) and the NCl’s Stages of Health Communications. The Outreach Core has the following specific aims: 1) To support and expand specific outreach activities associated with community-based cancer prevention research projects; 2) To assist research projects in recruiting and retaining racial and ethnic minority participants in cancer prevention research interventions; 3) To encourage and assist research projects in exploring plans to sustain successful interventions beyond initial funding; and, 4) To work with racial and ethnic minority communities and the NCl’s National Outreach Network on an NCI-coordinated agenda that includes identification, development, and dissemination of health promotion/cancer education materials and important NCI disease prevention messages. This Outreach Core has an innovative, theory-guided approach to planning for sustainability, including a mini-grant program to seed cancer prevention projects that have the potential for sustainability. We believe the Outreach Core will serve as a meeting ground for faculty and staff interested in intervention research and will link NCCU researchers to the resources of UNC LCCC for the design and execution of interventions. We have the research team and relationships with community partners needed to meet or exceed NCI expectations for community outreach, and our team has demonstrated an ability to recruit and retain diverse participants in community cancer prevention trials that will serve as a strong foundation from which to build this Outreach Core.

Co-Principal Investigators

Jonathan Livingston, PhD NCCU	Laura Linnan, ScD UNC Lineberger