Engagement Optimization Unit

Advances in molecular genomics have expanded our understanding of colorectal cancer (CRC); yet limited genomic characterization remains for certain patient populations. Empirical evidence to inform best practices for patient education, consent, enrollment, and retention is sparse, and standardized tools accommodating participant communication preferences, literacy, and numeracy are lacking. The Engagement Optimization Unit (EOU) will address these gaps through rigorous research to develop evidence-based participant engagement methods and tools. We use an iterative process involving experimentation, evaluation, implementation, and re-evaluation among different patient populations with metastatic and non-metastatic CRC. The Specific Aims include: (1) assessing educational and communication needs related to genomic research participation; (2) developing best practices for research engagement; (3) evaluating effective strategies for communicating genomic results; and (4) developing and testing a participant-centered genomic research engagement toolkit for healthcare providers to enhance patient participation, recruitment, and retention.