Community Outreach and Engagement

Rutgers Biomedical And Health Sciences, Newark NJ

Investigators

Linked publications, trials & patents

Abstract

COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT (COE) PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT The Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey’s (CINJ) catchment area (CA) is the state of New Jersey (NJ), which is home to 9.2 million residents in 21 counties. CINJ covers a densely populated, mainly urban geographic area with a population that is more ethnically and racially diverse than the U.S. CINJ formalized its COE efforts in 2019 through the Cancer Health Equity Center of Excellence (CHECoE). Activities are led by an interprofessional team of researchers, staff, and community organizations and members to address the CA burden and needs through high impact science and outreach. Dr. Anita Kinney, Associate Director for Population Science and Community Outreach, leads the integration of COE into all aspects of CINJ. COE is informed by ongoing surveillance of the CA burden, a vibrant Community Cancer Action Board (CCAB) of demographically diverse members across NJ, and other highly engaged community partners. These activities and input help ensure that various perspectives and communities’ voices are considered in program development, implementation, evaluation, and decision-making. The CHECoE includes 45 full time staff organized into five areas: CA Surveillance and Research Support, Outreach and Education, Prevention and Care Navigation, Community Partner Coordination , and Administration. COE has swiftly become a vital part of NJ communities and CINJ culture. With the CCAB and other community partners, CHECoE evaluat es community needs and the cancer burden to identify CA priorities as follows: 1) cancer sites of particular importance and associated risk factors; 2) cancer disparities; 3) access to care; 4) geographic regions with disproportionately high cancer burdens; and 5) research that addresses the CA burden and representation of diverse populations in research. CHECoE had substantial impact during this funding cycle, including development of the CA data dashboard and a digital community engagement platform; improvements in trial accruals, grants, and publications that address CA priorities; creation of the CCAB, five Program Liaisons and 35 Community Scientists; 12 internal pilot awards; two COE CCSG supplements; Community Science Cafés; and Science-to-Sidewalk/Sidewalk-to-Science initiatives. We have also advanced implementation of evidence-based cancer control actions by: leveraging community partnerships (357 partners at 522 sites); delivering professional education (attendance 15,932) and technical assistance (1,875 visits/meetings); conducting educational outreach for community members (87,000+ through direct education, digital media and printed materials in 10+ languages); facilitating access to preventive services (navigation to 52,000+ screenings resulting in the detection of >1,600 malignant and pre-malignant lesions; and through policy-related efforts, including ScreenNJ. We will build on our strong foundation to maximize our impact on how cancer affects NJ communities through research, outreach, and community interactions. With longer term data, we will assess our impact on cancer incidence, downward shifts in stage at diagnosis, and mortality.