Outreach Core

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Outreach Core Abstract As the third largest city in the U.S., Chicago has several highly resourced academic medical centers that garner millions of dollars in cancer research funds and philanthropy to support cancer related activities. Despite this relatively strong wealth of resources, vast cancer disparities plague the city, topping some of the `worst in ranking lists' in the U.S. The UIC-NEIU-NU RHCCC U54 Partnership's Outreach Core strives to improve cancer health outcomes and advance cancer health equity among Chicago area residents that face disproportionate cancer burden by: (1) continuing existing programs and processes that promote robust relationships between the U54 Partnership and Chicago communities; (2) developing and implementing engagement and outreach activities toward cancer health equity; (3) providing opportunities and linkages for students, trainees and faculty members to collaborate with the community on cancer health equity issues; and (4) planning and implementing NCI National Outreach Network activities. To accomplish these goals, the Outreach Core's Community Engagement Program (CEP) serves as an essential shared resource for the U54 Partnership community. The Partnership's CEP activities will focus on three main areas – community engagement; cancer prevention education, cancer control, and survivorship support; and capacity building. Coordinating these activities is the Community Health Educator (CHE), who will work at the nexus of each partner institution, creating linkages between our constellation of community partners, NCI's National Outreach Network, and the U54 research community. Research projects/cores can leverage the CHE toward accomplishment of their aims, as demonstrated by the CHE's proposed care coordination work on the proposed full research project smoking cessation intervention in Chicago FQHCs. A Community Steering Committee (CSC) will work closely with the Outreach Core Leads and the CHE to guide the development, implementation of the CEP's proposed outreach activities and aims. The Outreach Core is a continuation of the Partnership's planned, community-centered, educational activities designed to increase awareness and knowledge of cancer prevention, early detection, treatment programs, and cancer research for low income, underserved Chicago communities. But the core will also include new activities that strengthen community engagement and strategic partnerships, activities that can engineer meaningful interactions between cancer centers, academic institutions, and the communities they serve. Many of these activities will inform and support the Partnership's proposed and future pilot/full research projects and Cores; others will focus on health education needs and dissemination of information coordinated by the NCI National Outreach Network.