As noted in the R21 for this RFA, 'the unique role of faith-based organizations as trusted entities and their facilitation of social and health services have been of increasing interest to policymakers, researchers and practitioners, prompting efforts to expand their participation in federally funded programs, community-based participatory research activities and health disparities efforts"""""""" (R21 MD-10-004, p5). Faith-based institutions (churches) play a particularly prominent role in Latino community life, and provide access to a large segment of the population. Churches provide readily available infrastructures that are conducive to program delivery and sustainability. Therefore, churches represent an ideal location for dissemination of evidence-based interventions for this population. However, dissemination efforts have been slowed by a lack of information regarding organizational readiness, capacity and motivation to adopt, implement and sustain EBIs. Despite the enormous potential for establishing sustainable cancer control interventions through Latino churches, minimal research has been conducted on how best to harness this resource.
The aims of the stud are to: (1) assess factors associated with organizational commitment and capacity (""""""""organizational readiness"""""""") to adopt EBIs for cancer control among 100 Latino churches in Massachusetts;and (2) provide participating churches with access to intervention materials needed to implement EBIs and a training session based on NCI's """"""""Using What Works;"""""""" and (3) assess characteristics associated with participation and adoption of EBIs. This study represents a shift in paradigm, as the ultimate goal is to improve community capacity as a mechanism for increasing dissemination of EBIs. Given the availability of research-tested programs for cancer control developed for Latino populations, and the dearth of research regarding how to best deliver these interventions within existing community structures and channels, this proposal will meet an urgent need. This research will advance the state-of-the-science by providing a conceptual model for translation of EBIs into community settings, tested measures to assess organizational readiness and motivations to adopt cancer control programs, and research-based recommendations for capacity-enhancement interventions.
Project Narrative The goal of this community-based participatory study is to understand characteristics of Latino churches that are associated with organizational readiness, capacity and motivation to adopt evidence-based interventions (EBI) for cancer control to reduce disparities. This innovative study will contribute significantly to the field of dissemination research by providing: (1) a tested conceptual model and measures of factors associated with organizational readiness among churches;(2) recommendations regarding design of future interventions to maximize dissemination of EBIs through churches;and (3) data to provide the foundation for a larger NIH proposal to conduct a large-scale dissemination trial in churches.
