Community outreach involves more than just being present in the community.
“The work that we do connects our communities with cancer science and connects our scientists with our diverse communities,” said Hayley Thompson, Ph.D., Wayne State University School of Medicine professor of Oncology and associate center director of Community Outreach and Education at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute and faculty supervisor of the Office of Community Outreach and Engagement.
COE monitors the cancer burden in Karmanos’s 46-county catchment area, which includes 17 treatment centers in Michigan. Through meaningful academic-community partnerships, strategic research initiatives, and evidence-based cancer prevention and control approaches, the department engages communities and scientists in strategies to reduce the burden and improve cancer outcomes across all populations. This involves interpreting data from a range of sources, data that informs COE’s initiatives, including community-based cancer education and screening outreach. The office coordinates multiple initiatives, such as training community members to help educate family, friends and neighbors, mobilizing community organizations to offer cancer information and connection to care, teaching community members the basics of research, convening community members identifying cancer research priorities based on their lived experiences, and building relationships between community stakeholders and scientists.
The COE office includes four sections:
Catchment Area Data and Responsive Programs
Partnerships and Policy
Scientific Engagement and Capacity Building
Cancer Prevention, Screening and Connection to Care
“Part of COE’s role is to identify, aggregate and interpret data on cancer incidence, deaths and risk factors, including social determinants of health, across the Karmanos catchment area through sources like the Michigan Cancer Surveillance Program, the Metropolitan Detroit Cancer Surveillance System, and the U.S. Census,” Dr. Thompson said. “This data is available to the public and can be found on our website. We also support and promote initiatives that address the challenges that the data reveals.”
Some of these initiatives are:
Michigan Community Outreach to Address Financial Toxicity, or MI-COST – Data show that 9.5% of the catchment area live in poverty, with rates highest in the east region (11.1%) and Detroit (27%). MI-COST is an online interactive platform developed by Theresa Hastert, Ph.D., MPP, Population Studies and Disparities Research Program member at Karmanos and associate professor of Oncology at WSU, along with community members and partners.
Cross Training and Physical Activity: A Better Life Experience, or CAPABLE – According to the most recent data available in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s PLACES (an online data tool that provides health-related data), 24.2% of the Karmanos catchment area residents report not participating in leisure physical activity or exercise in the past month. Rates of physical inactivity are highest in the east region (28.7%) and Detroit (31.8%). One way in which COE addresses this problem is through CAPABLE, a high-intensity interval training program for cancer survivors and high-risk adults of all ability levels. It is offered to cancer survivors and those at high risk for cancer across the state for free. This program was developed by Jennifer Beebe-Dimmer, Ph.D., M.P.H., leader of the Population Studies and Disparities Research Program, scientific director of the Epidemiology Research Core at Karmanos and professor of Oncology at WSU.
Digital inclusion is a statewide priority. According to the Michigan High-Speed Internet Office, 5% of households do not subscribe to fixed home broadband service. Yet broadband service is increasingly important to meaningful online involvement, including cancer care. The new Karmanos Technology Assistance for Cancer Patients and Caregivers Program helps cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers with their needs related to digital literacy, broadband access and devices.
Partnerships and Policy
The Michigan Cancer HealthLink is a statewide network that brings together community members and cancer researchers to develop research ideas, as well as educational and service-based programs.
“We believe that if community members and scientists work together, targeted research and programming can be developed to improve a wide range of cancer outcomes in our region,” Dr. Thompson said. “Cancer Action Councils are at the heart of the Michigan Cancer HealthLink. There are currently eight CACs, which are made up of community members and representatives from community-based organizations. The CACs engage over 50 members.”
All CAC members complete basic training in cancer research and participate in structured exercises to identify areas they believe scientists should prioritize. Based on these priorities, they collaborate with scientists on projects and develop programming and products.
“Our CAC members are invested in supporting cancer prevention and control in communities across the state, and they are a great example of what the COE office is trying to accomplish when it comes to partnerships and engagement,” Dr. Thompson said.
Click here to learn more about what CACs do.
COE also coordinates a Research and Advocacy Consortium collaborative of 47 community partners, including faith-based, social service and public health organizations across the catchment area. COE and RAC members work to improve cancer prevention and control through programming while also advancing cancer-relevant practices and policy recommendations, disseminating information around cancer research discoveries and fueling new research.
Scientific Engagement and Capacity Building
Through four programs, COE helps bridge the gap between the community and clinical and scientific research.
The Building Your Capacity Curriculum is a foundational training for community members in cancer research. It prepares participants to partner with cancer researchers at Karmanos. More than 120 participants have completed the nine-session training. Three BYC sessions are scheduled in April, May and September. Click here to learn more.
The Community Health Scholar Program is an excellent opportunity for community members interested in research as a possible career. The 10-session course allows participants to dive deeper into the science and how it translates into cancer care. The program will be offered again this spring in partnership with the WSU Center for Health Equity and Community Knowledge in Urban Populations. Learn more here.
The Research Advisory Program is a great opportunity for community participants who have gone through the first two programs. Trained community members become advisors to the three Karmanos research programs: Molecular Therapeutics, Population Studies and Disparities Research, and Tumor Biology and Microenvironment. Participants attend research program meetings, go on lab tours, help plan program retreats and help enhance the public relevance of the research conducted by Karmanos and the WSU School of Medicine Department of Oncology.
COE maintains a list of Karmanos researchers who are passionate about explaining their research to the community. These clinical and basic scientists have gone through the Karmanos Scientists in Action Program, in which they learned how to communicate science and treatment to community members.
Cancer Prevention, Screening and Connection to Care
COE also reaches the community with strong outreach programming, like the Karmanos Academy and Community Conversations on Cancer, offering video resources, and providing cancer education and outreach.
Karmanos Academy prepares people to share important health information within their communities. Through Karmanos Academy’s “Real Talk” programming, participants train to become lay health advisors who share vital information with their network of family, friends, colleagues and neighbors. In 2024, Karmanos Academy trained 36 advisors during the Real Talk: Breast Cancer session and eight as part of Real Talk: Prostate Cancer. In 2025, Karmanos Academy will offer Real Talk: Lung Cancer. Learn more about the Karmanos Academy here.
The Community Conversations on Cancer series gives Karmanos scientists direct opportunities to share with community members the latest updates in cancer care and innovative research discoveries they are conducting in the lab and field. The program aims to engage in a bi-directional dialogue, giving the community opportunities to ask questions and receive answers. Watch past Community Conversations on Cancer sessions here.
COE provides a robust online video resource center to educate the public and health care providers. Videos such as educational webinars, presentations and recorded events are available to watch at the viewer's convenience. In addition, the team reached 7,500 residents through educational programming, health fairs and special events in 2024.
Click here to learn more about the Karmanos Cancer Institute Office of Community Outreach and Engagement and how to get involved.
This article originally appeared here.