The UF Health Cancer Center’s Community-Partnered Cancer Disparities Research Collaborative (CDRC)
What is the CDRC?
The CDRC consists of a group of four Black churches, an interdisciplinary team of culturally sensitive researchers, and a health disparities research support staff working collaboratively to conduct community-based participatory research that will lead to interventions and large grants that aim to help prevent and/or reduce cancers among Blacks and others who live in the East Gainesville Community in Gainesville, Florida. The aforementioned four Black churches are located in or serve the East Gainesville Community (the target community), which has the lowest household incomes in Gainesville. These four Black churches are called satellite CDRCs, and they are supported and operated in partnership with the UF Health Cancer Center (UFHCC). The ultimate goal of this partnership and the satellite CDRCs is to help prevent and reduce cancers, cancer disparities, and cancer deaths among Blacks and others who live in the target community and later among Blacks and other disparity groups beyond this target community. The CDRC is organized into three studies.
Who are the leaders of the CDRC?
The leaders of the CDRC are (a) Dr. Tucker, (b) Dr. Lee, (c) Pastor Thorpe, (d) Ms. Miles Hamilton, who is the program manager and lives in the target community, (e) 4 pastor scientists (the pastors of the four church-based satellite CDRCs), who are Pastors Feathers, Rawls, Taylor, and Thorpe, (f) 4 community scientists—one at each of the satellite CDRCs, (f) Ms. Kirsten Klien, who is a doctoral student and associate program manager, (g) Dr. Tucker’s health disparities research and administrative team, (h) members of Dr. Tucker’s Health Promotion and Health Disparities Research Internship for culturally sensitive undergraduate researchers, and (i) an 8-member CDRC Advisory Board. I (Dr. Tucker) thank the UFHCC’s Cancer Control and Population Sciences Program for financially supporting the CDRC.
CDRC Studies
CDRC Study I: Cancer Knowledge, Quality of Life, Health Behaviors, and Views of Health Care and Medical Research among Adult Cancer Survivors and Adults At-Risk for Cancer
Recruiting and enrolling 300 adult research participants who live in a target community, are 40 years old or older, are cancer survivors—or meet at least two of the following cancer-risk criteria: (a) have obesity, (b) smoke cigarettes, (c) regularly consume alcohol, and/or (d) have at least one close relative (i.e., mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, sister, or brother) who currently has or has died from one or more of the following types of cancer: breast cancer, colorectal cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer, or cervical cancer. Participants will complete an assessment battery, and their answers will be used to determine the following:
(1) if their self-reported cancer knowledge, cancer status (have or do not have cancer), perceived cultural sensitivity of providers, perceived healthcare racism, primary provider location (cancer center, other cancer treatment site, other health care site, no provider), and demographic characteristics are significantly associated with their (a) reported healthcare satisfaction, (b) cancer screening status, (c) engagement in healthy eating and physical activity; and (2) if there are significant associations among their perceived family/friend support, physical and psychological quality of life, stress and depression levels, engagement in healthy eating and physical activity, cancer status, BMI, and demographic characteristics.
CDRC Study II: Testing the Impact of the Health-Smart Behavior Program on the Health Behaviors and Status of Adult Cancer Survivors and Adults At-Risk for Cancer Who Have Obesity
A total of 200 participants who are adult cancer survivors with obesity or who are at-risk for cancer, including having obesity, will be randomly assigned to either a Health-Smart Behavior ProgramTM called Health-Smart or a Health Education Control Program (both described below) such that there are 100 participants in each program of which there will be an equal number of cancer survivors and individuals at-risk for cancer. These two programs will be compared regarding their impact on program participants’ (a) engagement in healthy eating and physical activity; (b) levels of stress and depression; (c) physical and psychological quality of life; and (d) BMI.
The 5-week, evidence-based, virtual Health-Smart, which is a program to prevent and reduce obesity, involves (a) healthy eating and physical activity goal setting based on assessed motivators of and barriers to these behaviors, plus participant-identified goal attainment support from a family member or friend who agrees to provide this support, (b) setting a weight loss goal of losing 5% of baseline body weight by the end of 3 months following program completion, (c) 10-member group discussions aimed at increasing participants’ health-smart behaviors (i.e., healthy eating, consistent physical activity, getting adequate sleep, and learning and using skills for managing/reducing stress and depression), (d) engagement in a virtually lead physical activity class at home or with friends at a church or community center, (e) a brief presentation to the participant groups on the relationship between obesity, cancer hypertension and diabetes at which a panel of health experts will answer participants’ anonymous and openly asked questions, and (f) a group training on using and accessing Zoom for program participation.
The 5-week virtual Health Education Control Program involves weekly presentations to participating groups on different health-related topics (other than cancer), such as hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease that includes group sharing of their experiences with and lessons learned about each discussed disease.
Prior to and 3 months following the two above-mentioned health promotion programs, administer the assessment battery sections that assess levels of engagement in healthy eating and physical activity, stress and depression, and physical and psychological quality of life and take height and weight measurements to determine BMI.
One group of trained community member health empowerment coaches will implement the virtual Health-Smart Program, and another group of trained health empowerment coaches or an avatar will deliver the presentations in the Virtual Health Education Control Program.
CDRC Study III (which has 4 substudies): Focus Groups to Assess Barriers to Health Behaviors, Cancer Screenings, and/or Cancer Research Participation and to Assess the Support Needs of Caretakers of Cancer Survivors
I. Conducting focus groups with 60 (30 males and 30 females) study participants (half who have been screened and half who have not been screened for breast cancer, colorectal cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer, or cervical cancer) to determine the views of these 60 participants regarding (a) barriers to and motivators for getting screened for the above listed cancers, and (b) strategies for overcoming the identified barriers
II. Conducting focus groups with 60 (30 males and 30 females) cancer survivors to determine the views of these 60 participants regarding their (a) cancer-related mental health challenges and (b) desired types of mental health support
III. Conducting focus groups with 60 (30 males and 30 females) study participants (half who have participated in cancer research and half who have not) to determine the views of these 60 participants regarding their (a) motivators of and barriers to participating in cancer research and (b) strategies for removing the barriers
IV. Conducting focus groups with 60 (30 males and 30 females) adult family members, friends, or caregivers of cancer survivors who live in any of the target communities and are 21 years old or older to determine the views of these 60 participants regarding (a) the challenges of being a cancer survivor caretaker and (b) their desired types of support to overcome these challenges