# NYC Cancer Outreach Network in Neighborhoods for Equity and Community Translation

> **NIH ALLCDC U01** · NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE · 2021 · $999,999

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Social determinants of health (SDH) play a substantial role in the existence of disparities in cancer screening,
risk factors, and outcomes. Racism, food insecurity, housing instability, language barriers, lack of transportation
and childcare, residential segregation, neighborhood poverty, and health insurance access are associated with
breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer disparities and delays in cancer screening, diagnostic testing, and care.
Systemic racism is a fundamental cause of cancer disparities and is reflected in highly segregated, impoverished,
and high population density neighborhoods with built and food environments that inhibit healthy behaviors. These
same neighborhoods often are federally designated medically underserved areas with limited access to
culturally- and linguistically-appropriate healthcare services and are geographically remote from high quality
cancer centers. NYC CONNECT (New York City Cancer Outreach Network in Neighborhoods for Equity and
Community Translation) is a multi-sector and multi-institutional proposal that builds on a long history of
conducting community-based SDH interventions and community-clinical linkage strategies in NYC to advance
health equity. Collaborating partners include a CDC-funded NYC Cancer Prevention and Control Research
Network Center, two NCI-designated Cancer Centers, the Food Bank for NYC, and their network of multi-sector
community, clinical and government partners. We will build on NYU’s existing community-based community-
clinical linkage program which: 1) involves patient navigators who share similar characteristics and lived
experiences as the communities they serve and are imbedded in community settings in partnership with trusted
community organizations; 2) utilizes a whole-person approach to cancer prevention and control that screens for
unmet SDH and links participants to appropriate SDH services; and 3) facilitates access to health insurance and
other resources for uninsured and low-income individuals and navigation from cancer screening to treatment
services. We will deepen this intervention’s effect by addressing systemic racism working in partnership with the
Food Bank for NYC, trusted grassroots community partners, a network of federally qualified health centers and
community medicine clinics. Through a co-creation process with community stakeholders, we will apply a
participatory and trauma-informed approach to community-building and development to identify racial equity
strategies that are informed by critical race theory. To assess causal mechanisms that underlie the different
elements of the intervention that lead to improved cancer screening rates, we will utilize theories of empowerment
and social capital at the community level and change management framework at the health systems level. Using
an Extension of RE-AIM to Enhance Sustainability model, we will assess implementation factors to optimize
reach, uptake, and scalability of comm...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10348962
- **Project number:** 1U01DP006643-01
- **Recipient organization:** NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
- **Principal Investigator:** Bruce D Rapkin
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** ALLCDC
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $999,999
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-09-30 → 2026-09-29

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10348962

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10348962, NYC Cancer Outreach Network in Neighborhoods for Equity and Community Translation (1U01DP006643-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10348962. Licensed CC0.

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