# Programa de ARBOLES Familiares: Assessing Risk of Breast Cancer through Outreach to Latinas with Education and Support

> **NIH NIH R25** · GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $322,257

## Abstract

ARBOLES Project Abstract/Summary
Disparities in counseling and testing (genetic services) among Latinas and Hispanics at
increased risk of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC) result in less awareness of high
lifetime cancer risks and thus increased risk of mortality due to a lack of appropriate risk
management. Disparate uptake of genetic services in Latinas and Hispanics (hereafter ‘Latinas’)
includes limited awareness of referral to and access to services, as well as socioeconomic,
language, and cultural barriers. Alternate models to facilitate risk appropriate referrals to and
navigation through genetic services are urgently needed. In other cancer education contexts,
community outreach and education professionals (hereafter, CORE-P), such as community
health educators, promotoras, lay health advisors and patient navigators, have been effective in
improving cancer screening behaviors in underserved populations. Increased screening and risk
assessments can help reduce disparities in cancer incidence and mortality. Guided by core
competencies from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other national
coalitions, we seek to educate bilingual Spanish-English speaking CORE-P to increase basic
knowledge about: the role of genetics in disease, the limitations of their own genetic expertise,
and how to make appropriate referrals for at-risk individuals to health care professionals with
more genetic expertise, called ‘referral-level competence.’ Limited research has used CORE-P
to increase Latinas’ awareness and uptake of genetics services through education and support.
Guided by principles of Adult Learning Theory and popular education techniques, we propose
the Family Tree Program [Programa de ARBOLES Familiares: Assessing Risk of Breast Cancer
through Outreach to Latinas with Education and Support] for bilingual CORE-P. The goal of the
training program is to address the unmet referral-level competence needs by developing a
trained network of CORE-P to ensure risk appropriate uptake of genetic services among Latinas
at risk for HBOC. Specifically, we aim to: (1) refine and finalize an education curriculum for
bilingual community outreach and education professionals (CORE-P), (2) implement the
ARBOLES Familiares program among 250 bilingual CORE-P using an in-person workshop
followed by online modules, and (3) identify the impact of the ARBOLES Familiares program on
participants’ knowledge, self-efficacy, skills, and the resulting community impact among high-
risk Latinas.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9988217
- **Project number:** 5R25CA217723-04
- **Recipient organization:** GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** KRISTI D. GRAVES
- **Activity code:** R25 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $322,257
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-08-01 → 2022-11-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9988217

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9988217, Programa de ARBOLES Familiares: Assessing Risk of Breast Cancer through Outreach to Latinas with Education and Support (5R25CA217723-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9988217. Licensed CC0.

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