Community Outreach Core

Magwood, Gayenell

Abstract

One of the most important values within SC CADRE is to ensure that principles of community engagement are incorporated at every level within the Center. To realize this value, the SC CADRE leadership has charged the Community Outreach Core, a highly qualified team of community engagement experts, to facilitate ongoing, bi- directional communication between community members, SC CADRE investigators and Scholars to address cancer disparities in South Carolina (SC). This Core will build upon existing community partnerships and collaborations to further develop and sustain a community outreach infrastructure to support and expand the outreach activities associated with SC CADRE-generated research. Core leaders will also engage community and academic (SCSU students, staff, and faculty) stakeholders in the development and deployment of evidence-based approaches to communicate, disseminate, and promote implementation of National Cancer Institute (NCI) recommendations for cancer prevention, early detection, and treatment. The Community Outreach Core also aims to employ lay navigators to assist underserved patients in receiving timely interventions for cancer early detection and treatment, as well as recruit and retain racially and ethnically diverse patients in cancer research. Additionally, the Community Outreach Core will establish an innovative, cancer-focused Community-Engaged Scholars Program to enable the capacity of community-academic partnerships to conduct cancer disparities research. Community outreach, as practiced in the SC CADRE, will be a collaborative effort among partner institutions, communities, and health systems to effectively reach individuals and health care providers with information and tools to improve cancer health outcomes, with the goal of reducing cancer disparities in South Carolina and beyond.