Abstract B103: Research partnership to address social needs in cancer care
Authors: McDougall Jean A. , Jaffe Shoshana Adler , Jacobsen Kendal , Scott Mary Alice , de la Rosa Ivan , Villanueva Elisabeth Bustos , Page-Reeves Janet , Sussman Andrew , Guest Dolores 
Published: January 2023

Introduction: Health-related social needs, including food insecurity, housing instability, transportation problems, utility needs, and interpersonal safety, are increasingly understood as important determinants of cancer outcomes. Social needs may be addressed through patient screening and support. However, the successful integration of social and clinical care remains elusive in cancer care delivery. The novel Research Partnership to Address Social Needs in Cancer Care (REPASO) brings together academic, community, and clinical stakeholders to address the unmet social needs of cancer survivors in persistent poverty areas of New Mexico. Procedures: In developing our partnership, we took an asset-based, problem-solving, and community-driven approach to discover successful strategies and solutions that communities in persistent poverty areas already use to address social needs. We convened virtual stakeholder meetings with representatives from community organizations, research institutions, and clinical practices to prioritize social needs and develop a strategic plan to expand the reach of social needs programs to cancer survivors. Results: Initial stakeholder meetings identified knowledge, in terms of the awareness and familiarity navigating the medical and social services sectors, as a primary unmet social need in the community. Participants stressed the importance of ongoing educational opportunities for cancer survivors and families to gain the knowledge needed to address other unmet social needs, such as food insecurity and transportation challenges during and after cancer treatment. Community representatives considered universal and systematic screening for multiple social needs to be acceptable and actionable. They identified a need for a shared data platform to assist in closing the loop from identification of social needs, referral to services, and health outcomes. Barriers to successful research partnerships voiced by community stakeholders included lack of time and resources and complex data-sharing requirements. Conclusions: REPASO represents a novel research enterprise to eliminate cancer outcome disparities in persistent poverty areas of New Mexico. Stakeholder meetings are ongoing and will culminate in a retreat that bring together representatives from community organizations, research institutions, and clinical practices to generate new research questions using a Ripple Effects Mapping exercise. At the conclusion of this capacity-building project, we expect to develop the research infrastructure to track the provision of social services to, and monitor outcomes of, cancer survivors in persistent poverty areas.

Citation Format: Jean A. McDougall, Shoshana Adler Jaffe, Kendal Jacobsen, Mary Alice Scott, Ivan de la Rosa, Elisabeth Bustos Villanueva, Janet Page-Reeves, Andrew Sussman, Dolores Guest. Research partnership to address social needs in cancer care [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 15th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2022 Sep 16-19; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2022;31(1 Suppl):Abstract nr B103.