University of Illinois Cancer Center Research Scientist Leslie Carnahan, PhD, MPH, is the corresponding author of a peer-reviewed manuscript in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) journal Preventing Chronic Disease that describes the community engagement and legislative engagement strategy developed and implemented for the 2022–2027 Illinois Comprehensive Cancer Control (CCC) Plan through an academic-state public health department partnership.
The Cancer Center supported the community engagement strategy activities, which included town hall and focus groups.
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Because CCC plans are blueprints for states to identify cancer priorities and health equity strategies for cancer prevention and control, the report emphasizes that community members and people from multiple sectors must be involved in their development and implementation.
“This report provides a model of community engagement that can serve as a blueprint for other statewide cancer coalitions working on their own plans,” the authors conclude.
Along with Carnahan, co-authors Brenda Soto, MPH, and Tigist Mersha, BS, are current members of the Cancer Center’s Community Engagement and Health Equity (CEHE) team, while Erica Martinez, MBA, MPH, and Vida Henderson, PhD, PharmD, MPH, MFA, are former CEHE team members.