Community Outreach and Engagement

Community Outreach and Engagement Summary Because the University of Minnesota is a land grant university, our catchment area is the entire state of Minnesota. Currently, 16% of the population is over age 65 years, and the proportion is growing quickly. Immigrants make up 8.2% of the population, including the largest Somali and the second-largest Hmong populations in the US, and Minnesota has a larger rural population than the national average. Our catchment analysis identified a number of areas of focus as we strive to reduce the cancer burden in Minnesota, including cancers with higher burden (melanoma, leukemia, lymphoma), cancers with disparities in incidence and mortality (colorectal, lung, breast), modifiable risks (tobacco), and protective factors (cancer screening). Our long-term goal is to address the burden of cancer and health equity in our catchment area by building relationships, which we will achieve through the following Specific Aims: 1) Monitor the cancer burden and identify opportunities for advancing equity in the MCC catchment area; 2) Engage community stakeholders and partners and create bidirectional partnerships across communities, researchers, and healthcare organizations to advance cancer equity and reduce cancer burden; 3) Integrate catchment focus within MCC Scientific Programs and research priorities, build capacity for community engagement across MCC Programs, and facilitate stakeholder engagement activities to catalyze cancer research focused on catchment priorities and community needs; and 4) Facilitate dissemination of evidence-based interventions to reduce the cancer burden. The MCC COE Office is led by Co–Associate Directors Jen Poynter, PhD, and Rebekah Pratt, PhD, and Administrative Director Kiara Ellis, MSW. Dr. Poynter, an experienced epidemiologist and population health researcher, provides expertise in cancer surveillance. Dr. Pratt provides expertise in community-based participatory research, practice-based research, implementation science, and cancer screening in minority and underrepresented populations. Ms. Ellis provides expertise in community engagement, community organizing, and advocacy. The leadership team is supported by 6 full-time staff. We also partner closely with the Minnesota Cancer Clinical Trials Network Engagement Specialist to expand our outreach to rural MN. Our cancer education programs have reached >240,000 individuals through our public service announcements and an additional 70,579 individuals through community-partnered events. Through our screening programs, we have facilitated screening for breast (1400 women), oral (89 individuals), and skin (575 individuals) cancers in the community. Future directions include expansion of patient navigation and creation of a patient advocate program to increase enrollment of underrepresented groups in clinical trials and creation of additional opportunities for MCC members across all Programs to engage with the community.