Abstract B107: Community scientist research advocacy program: Training our research community
Authors: Hensel Brooke , Guzman Ileana , Aristizabal Carolina , Ibarra Eduardo , Barahona Rosa , Baezconde-Garbanati Lourdes , Stern Mariana C. , Suther Sandra , Webb Fern J. 
Published: September 2024

Community Scientist Research Advocacy (CSRA) training programs serve as fundamental bridges between communities and researchers. By engaging community members, these programs leverage networks, knowledge, and community perspectives to enhance research endeavors. This approach facilitates trust-building between disadvantaged populations and cancer researchers, particularly in the context of clinical trials participation and tissue donation. The purpose of our program was to develop and evaluate an innovative, bi-coastal, and bilingual program to inform, educate and encourage community members to become cancer research advocates in Florida (FL) and California (CA). Our program was culturally tailored for Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino/a adults. Primary objectives were to increase manpower for cancer research advocacy and increase multi-directional communication between cancer advocates with cancer patients, survivors, caregivers, community members, academic scientists, and policy makers. The CSRA program is a 13-week hybrid program implemented by the CaRE2 Health Equity Center, a bi-coastal partnership between the Florida A&M University, University of Florida, and University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Participants studied into cancers disproportionately affecting Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino/a groups, completing pre- and post-surveys to measure knowledge, self-efficacy, and program satisfaction. Additionally, participants concluded mentored advocacy projects for community implementation, with follow-up implemented at three months post-program completion. To date, a total of 45 adults have graduated from our CSRA program. We present data from the 2023 CSRA cohort (pre, N=21, post, N=19) that included participants from FL and CA, which are among the top five states in the U.S with the largest Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino/a populations. Regarding race and ethnicity, 6 participants were Black/African American, 13 Hispanic/Latino/a, 1 Asian, 1 Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and 9 White, with 95% female participants. This cohort had 90% program completion and 7 advocacy projects: 2 on lung cancer, 2 on pancreas cancer, and 3 on prostate cancer. Participants showed an increased in knowledge, from pre- mean 68.1 to post- mean 74.0, and a p-value of 0.018. There was an increased in self-efficacy; program satisfaction and evaluation were rated as high. In summary, our study depicts the effectiveness of a unique CSRA program tailored for Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino/a adults, fostering robust communication channels between cancer research advocates and diverse stakeholders. We emphasize the potential of such initiatives in addressing cancer health disparities and advocating to address specific inequalities by imparting educational initiatives in cancer research advocacy. We look forward to evaluating and enhancing our training program with an additional 21 research advocates in our cohort of 2024.

Citation Format: Brooke Hensel, Ileana Guzman, Carolina Aristizabal, Eduardo Ibarra, Rosa Barahona, Lourdes Baezconde-Garbanati, Mariana C. Stern, Sandra Suther, Fern J. Webb. Community scientist research advocacy program: Training our research community [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 17th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2024 Sep 21-24; Los Angeles, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2024;33(9 Suppl):Abstract nr B107.