A Pilot Program in Collaboration with African American Churches Successfully Increases Awareness of the Importance of Cancer Research and Participation in Cancer Translational Research Studies among African Americans

Abstract

African Americans are underrepresented in cancer research. We evaluate whether collaboration with African American churches can improve cancer awareness and increase participation in translational research protocols among African Americans. From February to April 2010, the Mayo Clinic partnered with African American Jacksonville churches to provide educational programs focused on cancer research and healthy behaviors. Education on multiple myeloma and on-site access to a translational cancer research pilot project evaluating the prevalence of monoclonal gammopathies and t(14,18) in African Americans was offered. Seventy-four percent, 236 out of 318 participants, returned the questionnaires. The majority of participants had never received information on multiple myeloma (67%), had never received clinical research study information (57%), and were enrolled in the translational research studies (55%). Partnerships with African American churches in community education projects that bring research to church venues are effective in improving cancer awareness and in increasing research participation among African Americans.

African American Men’s and Women’s Perceptions of Clinical Trials Research: Focusing on Prostate Cancer among a High-Risk Population in the South

“…Prior research has shown that free healthcare may motivate African Americans’ participation in research, 79 particularly because there is a disparity in health insurance coverage among African Americans compared to their White counterparts. 75, 79 Colon-Otero and colleagues specifically noted that national healthcare reform that ensures universal healthcare coverage will diminish barriers to cancer clinical trial enrollment that uninsured and underinsured patients encounter. 79 …”

“…75, 79 Colon-Otero and colleagues specifically noted that national healthcare reform that ensures universal healthcare coverage will diminish barriers to cancer clinical trial enrollment that uninsured and underinsured patients encounter. 79 …”

Prevalence of BCL-2/J(H) Translocation in Healthy African Americans

“…This project was part of a Mayo Clinic Institutional Review Board-approved translational cancer research pilot study aimed at increasing awareness on the importance of cancer research among the Northeast Florida AA population [10,11]. The study took place in AA churches located in Northeast Florida and at the Volunteers in Medicine Clinic, a clinic that serves low-income, working, uninsured patients and is located in inner-city Jacksonville, Florida [10,11].…”

“…The study took place in AA churches located in Northeast Florida and at the Volunteers in Medicine Clinic, a clinic that serves low-income, working, uninsured patients and is located in inner-city Jacksonville, Florida [10,11]. Blood samples were collected from consented adult subjects during educational sessions in a mobile research unit, a converted recreational vehicle that has sample collection, processing, and storage capabilities [11]. All samples were collected, stored, and transported back to Mayo Clinic in the mobile research unit.…”

“…In part, this is because AAs are underrepresented in cancer clinical trials due to lack of research awareness, limited access to trials, fear, distrust, cultural beliefs, and discrimination [10,11]. The limited access to trials can be attributed to several factors, including receiving care from facilities that are not involved in research, lack of access to facilities that perform research, and a higher percentage of patients with comorbidities, making them ineligible for participation in research [10,11]. As stated above, the prevalence of FL in AAs is also significantly lower than that observed in whites [4,5,12].…”