Community partnerships provide a key vehicle for dissemination of evidence-based interventions to promote cancer prevention. Despite fundamental advances in the development of evidence-based interventions, there are significant gaps in translation of this knowledge. In particular, little is known about the barriers faced by community groups in adopting successful evidence-based interventions and how dissemination can be accomplished in community settings. Even less is known about the adoption of these interventions by groups working with the underserved. The goal of our proposed project is to test a community participatory model for dissemination of evidence- based cancer prevention interventions by combining the elements of a national resource, the Cancer Control PLANET, and our close collaborative relationships with community partners developed through MassCONECT, a NCI-funded Community Network Program intervening to reduce cancer disparities in three Massachusetts communities: Boston, Lawrence &Worcester. Using community-based participatory research (CBPR) principles as the central guiding framework, we will promote the adoption of our intervention called PLANET MassCONECT, a web portal that adopts the national resource to local conditions. This community participatory model includes several key steps: (1) to seek community input from the Community Project Advisory Committee (C-PAC) and through formative research to assess community- specific factors influencing adoption of the PLANET;and (2) establish a dedicated, customized web portal, PLANET MassCONECT, that presents useable information organized to prevent information overload. To test the model, we will examine if the provision of three types of capital } human capital (community health educators serving as technical resources and workshops to train community members), social capital (communications among potential users leading to social capital), and financial capital (modest infrastructure support and pilot intervention grants) } will increase the organizational capacity to plan, adopt and implement evidence-based cancer control interventions in communities of three different sizes and structures. The outcomes of interest are collective efficacy, use of PLANET MassCONECT, PLANET reach, program planning and program adoption. We plan to disseminate the intervention, if successful, using two national cancer prevention networks funded by NCI and CDC, NCI's Cancer Information Service and the American Cancer Society. This study builds from a solid foundation of collaboration among community, academic and national partners to advance our understanding of dissemination of evidence-based interventions through community-based participatory approach.
The goal of PLANET MassCONECT is to design and test a model of dissemination of evidenced-based cancer-control interventions for adoption by community groups who serve the underserved in three Massachusetts communities - Boston, Lawrence, and Worcester. From research on health interventions, we know much about what should be done to promote health and prevent diseases, yet know little about how to translate those interventions into real world settings. The PLANET MassCONECT study will follow a community participatory model, allowing us to address the many barriers to successful dissemination, and is focused on building community capacity to ensure sustainability.
