Reducing cancer disparities through community engagement in policy development: The role of cancer councils

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the U.S and a source of large racial and ethnic disparities in population health. Policy Development (PD) is a powerful but sometimes overlooked public health tool for reducing cancer burden and disparities. The objective is to examine the current and potential roles played by local cancer councils which are voluntary partnerships formed by community organizations to pursue common interest in PD activities to reduce cancer burden and disparities. Method: Descriptive and formative study with self-administered survey instrument collected information from members of local cancer councils operating in six rural Arkansas counties (n=77; 86% response rate). Information included members' current and past experience in cancer PD, types of policy issues addressed, array of policy decision-makers with which council members interact, and types of methods used to inform policy discussions along with the extent and nature of variation in these roles across communities. Six councils in Arkansas with each having 10-15 members. Results: Policy self-efficacy were high among members with 85% reporting the necessary knowledge to talk with a local official about a health issue, and with 73.2% of respondents indicated they have the skills to support their interest in changing a healthcare issue. Alternatively, only 41.5% believe that there are available resources to support their interest in providing a change in healthcare. Conclusion: Community engagement through local cancer councils may inform and improve the PD processes within public health systems. Findings may be used to develop interventions to enhance community engagement in policy for the population studied. Responsive public health systems require vehicles for communities to engage in policy development. Cancer councils provide promising models of engagement. Untapped opportunities exist for enhancing policy development through cancer councils, such as expanding targets of engagement to include private-sector stakeholders and expanding methods of engagement.