Outreach Core

NIH RePORTER · NIH · U54 · $131,760 · view on reporter.nih.gov ↗

Abstract

Cancer incidence and mortality rates for minorities and under-resourced populations are significantly higher in Chicago than the national average for most cancers (Illinois State Cancer Registry). Addressing these disparities requires community-driven, solution-oriented approaches. In 2015, a consortium comprised of community members and three major academic institutions in Chicago, University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU), and the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University (NU-LCC), secured NCI U54 funding to establish the Chicago Cancer Health Collaborative (ChicagoCHeC), which aims to foster rigorous and meaningful research, education, training, and community outreach/engagement to address cancer health disparities. Through the original U54 award, the Outreach Core identified community needs, and provided leadership and programmatic support for community-based cancer education, engagement, and outreach activities. In this renewal, the proposed activities of the ChicagoCHeC Outreach Core will build upon the existing strengths, prior and ongoing work, accomplishments, and lessons learned from the first U54 award to elevate ChicagoCHeC’s collective impact on reducing cancer health disparities. A major area of the Outreach Core’s focus for the next five years will be to develop targeted cancer support efforts for populations experiencing cancer health disparities, including people with disabilities, Black men, and low income cancer survivors. Proposed community engagement approaches span the cancer continuum, encompassing prevention, screening and early detection, community-based education, and cancer treatment and survivorship. Specific aims of the Outreach Core are to: (1) Foster community partnerships and conduct ongoing needs assessment to identify new and innovative areas of opportunity, including outreach research, for community-engaged activities that will reach individuals from populations experiencing cancer health disparities; (2) Implement outreach and education activities across the cancer continuum; (3) Foster opportunities for building cancer health disparities research capacity among community partners, investigators, and students; (4) Plan, implement, and evaluate NCI National Outreach Network activities locally; and (5) Rigorously evaluate achievement and progress of the Outreach Core’s stated aims using a comprehensive evaluation strategy. A highly effective tri-institutional leadership team with complementary expertise will lead these activities, supported by experienced Community Health Educators with strong clinical and community networks. A Community Steering Committee will guide the development and implementation of the proposed outreach and engagement activities. The Outreach Core will leverage each ChicagoCHeC partner academic institution’s numerous ties to Chicago’s many neighborhoods and community organizations in its acti...

Key facts

NIH application ID
10925223
Project number
5U54CA203000-10
Recipient
NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
Principal Investigator
AIDA L GIACHELLO
Activity code
U54
Funding institute
NIH
Fiscal year
2024
Award amount
$131,760
Award type
5
Project period
2015-09-24 → 2026-08-31