A research project that is part of the Illinois Cancer Health Equity Research (I-CHER) Center at the University of Illinois Cancer Center was recognized for its poster presentation at the 17th American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved.
The poster, “Patient, provider, and advocate perspectives on factors that impact participation of Black women in breast cancer clinical trials,” was acknowledged by the AACR Patient Advocacy Program for being a project led by or working with patient advocates and community outreach engagement (COE) professionals.
The poster highlights findings from the FOR ME (Fostering Opportunities in Research through Messaging and Education) study, which is among the projects funded by the Cancer Center with grants from the American Cancer Society to establish Cancer Health Equity Research Centers at four Minority Serving Institutions, including the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC).
The posters serve as examples of the incredible impact that researchers, patient advocates and COE professionals can make when working together, said Cancer Center Research Scientist Leslie Carnahan, PhD, who attended the conference in Los Angeles, California, in late September.
In the FOR ME study, a team of researchers and local community advocacy groups, including Sisters Working It Out and Equal Hope, are working to develop a multimedia decision aid for Black women diagnosed with breast cancer to increase awareness about clinical trial participation.
Kent F. Hoskins, MD, the Oncology Service Line Medical Director at UI Health and the Cancer Center, is the project’s Principal Investigator. Others working on the study are Cancer Center member Ryan Nguyen, DO, an oncologist at UI Health, Cancer Center community partners Sisters Working It Out (SWIO), Equal Hope and Sinai Chicago.
Also involved in the project are: Tigist Mersha, MSW, MPH, UIC; Eliza B. Cohn, MSW, Fred Hutch Cancer Center, Seattle, Washington; Neha Hippalgaonkar, MD, UIC; Kauthar Salum, Fred Hutch Cancer Center; Ana Williams Waite, MPH, MHA, DDS, UIC; Christen Sandoval, MSPH, UIC; Lolita Coleman, PhD, Sisters Working It Out, Chicago; Beulah Brent, BA, Sisters Working It Out; Paris Thomas, MS, MCHES, PhD, Equal Hope, Chicago; Paramjeet Khosla, MD, Sinai Chicago; and Vida Henderson, PhD, PharmD, Fred Hutch Cancer Center.