Cancer Community Outreach Core

The Meharry Medical College/Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center/Tennessee State University Cancer Partnership (MVTCP) Community Outreach Core (COC) applies a community-engaged research (CEnR) framework to facilitate and nurture partnerships between Meharry Medical College (MMC), Tennessee State University (TSU), Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC), and community stakeholders to promote collaborative efforts to reduce the burden of cancer in the 14-county Nashville Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The geographic reach of the MVTCP includes the Nashville-Davidson County Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) of Middle Tennessee. Articulating the geographic reach of the COC enables a tailored approach to the different target communities within a 14-county region and a more robust assessment of program efficacy. CEnR involves developing collaborative partnerships between community members, community-based organizations, and academic institutions. CEnR provides a framework for community and academia to collaborate as equal research partners, foster co-learning about issues of concern to the community along the cancer continuum, with reciprocal transfer of expertise and mutual ownership of products and research processes. The COC leverages the effective use of community engagement to support cancer research and dissemination of culturally-tailored information to the public with a focus on communities with poorer cancer health outcomes . The COC contributes to the MVTCP’s priority of improving cancer outcomes by incorporating community engagement into research and outreach to ensure MVTCP activities reflect the needs and concerns of populations most affected by poorer outcomes. The overarching goal of the COC is to facilitate the reduction of differences in outcomes from cancer across populations by leveraging the strengths of community partners to support and enhance cancer research and outreach efforts.