Abstract A55: Can opposites attract? Developing a multi-institutional, interprofessional, cancer-related disparities curriculum for health professional students
Authors: Naylor Keith B. , Cassandra Fritz , Lam Helen , Hinton Lisa , Watkins Yashika , Britt Thomas , Kim Karen 
Published: May 2015

Background: The city of Chicago continues to be plagued with cancer-related health and healthcare disparities. Both the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine (PSOM) and Chicago State University (CSU) are located on Chicago's Southside. CSU is a designated minority serving institution with a student body composed of 80% African American, 7% Hispanic/Latino, 1% Asian/Pacific Islander and 8% Caucasian; while PSOM's student body is 47% Caucasian, 27% Asian/Pacific Islander, 13% African American, and 5% Hispanic/Latino. The Chicago Southside Cancer Disparities Initiative (SSCDI) is a partnership between the University of Chicago Comprehensive Cancer Center and CSU for the development of cancer education, training, and outreach. A primary aim of the SSCDI is to create an interprofessional cancer disparities curriculum for PSOM and CSU's MPH students. Multiple factors are known to impact the formation and effectiveness of interprofessional collaborations including: institutional commitment; administrative support; institutional familiarity; shared goals; as well as sociodemographic factors. The objective of this study is to identify potential facilitators and barriers to the implementation of an interprofessional cancer-related disparities curriculum for both PSOM and CSU MPH students.

Methods: Two town hall meetings were hosted at CSU and PSOM to present SSCDI goals, assess interest, and to solicit feedback from their respective faculty and students. Pre and post surveys were administered. Quantitative data was compared using Chi-square and qualitative data was coded to identify overarching themes.

Results: 15 students and 16 faculty/health professionals completed the survey at PSOM; 8 students and 5 faculty/health professionals completed the survey at CSU. PSOM students were less likely to: be familiar with (12.5% vs. 73.3%, p=0.005) or to have visited (25% vs. 100%, p&lt;0.005) CSU. CSU students were more likely to: strongly agree that cancer disparities are critical issues (100% vs. 53.3%, p=0.021); strongly agree that specific knowledge is needed to address cancer disparities (100% vs. 60%, p=0.037); and to express a strong interested in a cancer disparities course (87.5% vs. 33.3%, p=0.046) compared to PSOM students. CSU and PSOM students were equally likely to report not ever taking a cancer disparities course (100% vs. 66.7%, p=0.065). Key themes emerged from the town hall meetings regarding institutional strengths and weaknesses. PSOM participants identified institutional culture and community engagement as weaknesses; while CSU participants identified administrative support and research infrastructure. Strengths identified at PSOM included: research infrastructure, minority patient population, and cancer expertise; while CSU identified Community engagement/service and student/faculty commitment to the South Side community as strengths.

Conclusion: Our study identified key barriers and facilitators to the successful implementation of an interprofessional cancer disparities education at PSOM and CSU. Barriers included: (1) Lack of institutional familiarity, (2) Disparate student views regarding cancer related disparities education, and (3) Administrative/Structural challenges. Facilitators included: (1) Shared commitment to the Southside Community and (2) Complementary strengths/weaknesses in research infrastructure and community engagement. These findings serve as the basis of targeted interventions to increase faculty and student participation and preparedness, including joint community grand rounds, campus tours, research seminars, and social functions. We believe this iterative approach to curriculum design will improve student interaction and the co-learning environment.

Citation Format: Keith B. Naylor, Fritz Cassandra, Helen Lam, Lisa Hinton, Yashika Watkins, Thomas Britt, Karen Kim. Can opposites attract? Developing a multi-institutional, interprofessional, cancer-related disparities curriculum for health professional students. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Sixth AACR Conference: The Science of Cancer Health Disparities; Dec 6–9, 2013; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2014;23(11 Suppl):Abstract nr A55. doi:10.1158/1538-7755.DISP13-A55