Community Outreach Core

Community Outreach Core Leaders:
Karen Winkfield, MD, PhD (Core Director)
Jennifer Cunningham-Erves, PhD
Rebecca Selove, PhD

The Community Outreach Core (COC) applies a community-engaged research (CEnR) framework to facilitate and nurture integration and partnership between the institutions in our MVTCP. The COC engages community partners to incorporate meaningful community engagement into research and outreach to ensure that MVTCP activities are reflecting the needs and concerns of those populations that are most affected by cancer health disparities in the 14-county Nashville Metropolitan Statistical Area. The overarching goal of the COC is to facilitate the reduction of cancer health disparities by leveraging the strengths of community partners to support and enhance cancer research and outreach efforts.

Key Activities: 1) maintenance of active and effective community advisory board (CAB); 2) expansion of community engagement; 3) formal assessment of community needs and concerns; 4) developing and maintaining communication avenues; 5) meetings with research project teams; 6) technical assistance for grant proposals, research studies, biobanking efforts and clinical trials; 7) research studios; 8) developing training modules, stand-alone materials, and web-based tools; 9) mentorship and training opportunities for students, trainees, faculty in outreach research; and 10) building community research capacity.

COC Community Advisory Board

The Community Advisory Board (CAB) includes representatives from community-based health promotion organizations, faith-based organizations, cancer survivors, and other community members who bring a direct patient perspective. The CAB regularly consults with MVTCP research projects, and supports the implementation of clinical trials. The COC and CAB facilitate bi-directional communications, bringing community input to the projects and disseminating results to the community. MVTCP investigators leading research projects provide presentations to the CAB and receive feedback on presenting to lay audiences.

Community Outreach Core 

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