TY - JOUR
T1 - Engaging Black Churches to Address Cancer Health Disparities
T2 - Project CHURCH
AU - McNeill, Lorna H.
AU - Reitzel, Lorraine R.
AU - Escoto, Kamisha H.
AU - Roberson, Crystal L.
AU - Nguyen, Nga
AU - Irvin Vidrine, Jennifer
AU - Strong, Larkin L.
AU - Wetter, David W.
N1 - Funding Information:
Planning for sustainability has been central to Project CHURCH as it enters its 10th year. Ongoing research partnerships require continued funding and plans for such were discussed among the research team and advisory board before initiation of the cohort study, as recommended by others (31, 32). Project CHURCH began with initial funding by MD Anderson and philanthropy from the Department of Health Disparities Research. We have actively pursued approaches to maintain a long-standing partnership-incorporating capacity building, initiating pilot studies, and applying for funding opportunities that serve to benefit both institutions and expand the network of participating churches in the cohort. These grants maintain commitment to CBPR principles, requiring that churches receive financial subcontracts and incorporate training and capacity building in research. To date we have received additional philanthropy from foundations and individuals, peer-reviewed grant funding from NIH, and an administrative supplement to our Cancer Center Support Grant. Our future plans are to enhance and expand the partnership to include additional churches in the Houston area through a recently-funded NIH conference series grant (1R13HD080934-01) to build a coalition of churches to address cancer disparities.
Funding Information:
This work was supported by funding from the University Cancer Foundation; the Duncan Family Institute through the Center for Community-Engaged Translational Research; the Ms. Regina J. Rogers Gift: Health Disparities Research Program; the Cullen Trust for Health Care Endowed Chair Funds for Health Disparities Research; the Morgan Foundation Funds for Health Disparities Research and Educational Programs; and the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health through The University of Texas MD Anderson’s Cancer Center Support Grant (CA016672).
Publisher Copyright:
© Copyright © 2018 McNeill, Reitzel, Escoto, Roberson, Nguyen, Vidrine, Strong and Wetter.
PY - 2018/7/19
Y1 - 2018/7/19
N2 - African Americans in the United States suffer disproportionately from cancer, having the highest mortality rate of any racial/ethnic group across all cancers for the past several decades. In addition, significant disparities exist in several cancer risk behaviors, including obesity, intake of fruits and vegetables, leisure time physical activity and cancer screening. Addressing these disparities require successful development of relationships with minority communities to partner in the research process, in order to understand areas of critical need and develop interventions that are compatible with this community. In this manuscript we describe Project CHURCH (Creating a Higher Understanding of Cancer Research and Community Health), a collaborative partnership between The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Houston-area African American churches. Project CHURCH was developed to understand disparities in cancer prevention risk factors and engage African Americans as partners in the research process. Using community-based participatory research principles, we describe the development and infrastructure of the research partnership, as well as how the church community has been engaged in the development and implementation of a large African American cohort study (N = 2,338). Finally, the characteristics of the cohort are presented along with cohort success in addressing community need while having significant contribution to the scientific literature. Project CHURCH serves as a valuable resource for cancer prevention in the African American community.
AB - African Americans in the United States suffer disproportionately from cancer, having the highest mortality rate of any racial/ethnic group across all cancers for the past several decades. In addition, significant disparities exist in several cancer risk behaviors, including obesity, intake of fruits and vegetables, leisure time physical activity and cancer screening. Addressing these disparities require successful development of relationships with minority communities to partner in the research process, in order to understand areas of critical need and develop interventions that are compatible with this community. In this manuscript we describe Project CHURCH (Creating a Higher Understanding of Cancer Research and Community Health), a collaborative partnership between The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Houston-area African American churches. Project CHURCH was developed to understand disparities in cancer prevention risk factors and engage African Americans as partners in the research process. Using community-based participatory research principles, we describe the development and infrastructure of the research partnership, as well as how the church community has been engaged in the development and implementation of a large African American cohort study (N = 2,338). Finally, the characteristics of the cohort are presented along with cohort success in addressing community need while having significant contribution to the scientific literature. Project CHURCH serves as a valuable resource for cancer prevention in the African American community.
KW - black churches
KW - cancer prevention
KW - community engagement
KW - community-based participatory research
KW - health disparities
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85060046932&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85060046932&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3389/fpubh.2018.00191
DO - 10.3389/fpubh.2018.00191
M3 - Article
C2 - 30073158
AN - SCOPUS:85060046932
SN - 2296-2565
VL - 6
JO - Frontiers in Public Health
JF - Frontiers in Public Health
M1 - 191
ER -