Engaging the Asian American Community to Address Cancer Burden: Experiences and Lessons Learned

Background: Reducing cancer health disparities in Asian Americans requires orchestrated efforts and partnerships. Objectives: To describe the approach used by the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, HOPE Clinic, and Asian American organizations to understand and engage Houston’s Asian American communities in cancer research, as well as to share lessons learned. Methods: The community-academic-medical partnership used community-based research principles to build the partnership, form the community advisory board, conduct a community needs assessment, and offer cancer prevention engagement and education. Results: Some lessons learned included balancing language needs with limited resources, incorporating more time and resources to conduct health research in an ethnically diverse community, and promoting awareness of research and its role in cancer prevention in Asian American communities. Conclusions: Community–academic–medical partnerships are promising ways to engage the community, draw on combined expertise, and create research and programs that are scientifically strong and meaningful to the community.