Center for Health and Successful Living – A model for a student-led, University-based hub for cancer control

Issues: The cancer epidemic must be tackled using an ecological approach that employs all levels of prevention (primary, secondary and tertiary) while increasing community capacity via grassroots community empowerment.

Description: Toward that end, the University of Toledo (Toledo Ohio) has developed a new Center for Health and Successful Living that uses a community hub model based on the three levels of prevention. The hub model features a community-building approach by establishing project teams comprised of breast cancer survivors, students, and faculty members. The current focus of these project teams is cancer risk reduction and improved survivorship.   

Lessons Learned: This community-based participatory approach has proven to be effective. Students were actively engaged in needs assessment, program planning, implementation, program evaluation, grant writing, and the creation of culturally appropriate health education methods and materials. From April 1 to December 31, 2013, 25 students and six faculty members from many disciplines were involved. The Center trained eight African American breast cancer survivors to serve as breast health mentors. Those 8 women reached 139 African American women with risk reduction education. The Center was involved in 37 community events and reached 1,850 individuals with breast health education. The Center provided 95 low cost mammograms and 105 clinical breast exams.  

Recommendation: This model provides benefit to the university by attracting and retaining high quality students. It provides benefit to the community by empowering grass-roots citizens to take control of their health while providing low cost prevention services. This model is reproducible with other chronic conditions.