174270 Cancer Care and Racial Equity Study (CCARES): An Innovative Community and Academic Model for Investigating Disparities in Systems of Breast Cancer Care

Monday, October 27, 2008: 4:30 PM

Michael Yonas, DrPH , School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
Eugenia Eng, MPH, DrPH , Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
Christina Hardy, MPH , The Partnership Project, Greensboro, NC
Dinushika Mohottige, MPH , Department of Health Behavior & Health Education, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health, Chapel Hill, NC
Nettie Coad , The Partnership Project, Greensboro, NC
Nora Jones, MEd , The Partnership Project, Greensboro, NC
Jennifer Schaal, MD , The Partnership Project, Greensboro, NC
Jim Amell, PhD , W.K. Kellogg Health Scholar, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Robert Aronson, DrPH , Department of Public Health Education, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC
Brandolyn White, MPH , Greensboro Area Health Education Center, UNC Center for Community Research, Greensboro, NC
In this nation, the unequal burden of disease among People of Color has been well documented. One factor that is rarely explored with regard to disparities in health and healthcare is the role of institutional racism. Consistent findings of healthcare disparities have been explained by stereotyping, discrimination, and time pressure all by which occur in the context of institutional racism. In this presentation, we explore the integration of community-based participatory research (CBPR) principles with an Undoing Racism process to conceptualize, design, apply for and implement research to investigate disparities in healthcare. This process of integrating CBPR principles with anti-racist community organizing presents unique strengths and challenges that were negotiated by creating strong and transparent relationships that view conflict as necessary for true partnership. We will describe in detail the activities and necessary conflicts managed by our Health Disparities Collaborative to design and submit a successful application for NIH funding. Major challenges have included: assembling and mobilizing and maintaining a full collaborative; the difficulty of establishing a shared vision and purpose for the group; the issue of maintaining trust; and the willingness to address differences in institutional cultures. Expectation, acceptance and negotiation of conflict were essential. The presentation will end with a discussion of the concepts of cultural humility and cultural safety, which were central to the CBPR principles that guided CCARES partners through negotiating challenges and accommodating conflict.

Learning Objectives:
1. Recognize the benefits of the CBPR approach to investigating complexities in the system of breast cancer care. 2. Articulate a CBPR process for securing NIH funding and implementing research to explore and address disparities in health and healthcare. 3. Describe specific elements and lessons learned from a sustained multidisciplinary CBPR partnership dedicated to eliminating racial disparities through systems-level change.

Keywords: Community-Based Partnership, Breast Cancer

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a co-investigator and primary partner in this collaborative research effort, and have been for almost 4 years
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.