API-Friendly Resources for Breast Cancer Clinical Trials
Creators: name: University Of California Office Of The President
Publisher: name: University of California Office of the President
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/00dmfq477
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2024

description: Introduction: Operation Samahan, Inc. (OS) formed a community-campus partnership (CCP) with the UCSD Moores Cancer Center (UCSD) and San Diego State University (SDSU) with the goal of increasing Asian Pacific Islander (API) women’s participation in breast cancer (BC) clinical trials (CT). Why is this important? BC CT are studies that lead to improvements in prevention, early detection, and treatment of BC. However, it has been difficult to attract API women to take part in these studies, and this means that the results of the studies may not apply equally to API women. Without proven treatment options, breast cancer will become an even worse problem for API women. Unfortunately, there has been little attention to finding ways to increase API women’s participation in BC CT. Using a community-wide focus to inform API women about BC CT before they have BC is very important. Receiving a BC diagnosis is overwhelming, making it a poor time for a woman to learn about the complexities of treatment options, let alone BC CT. Further, starting standard BC treatment can disqualify women from BC CT for which they might have been eligible. This makes it important for women to be aware of BC CT as a treatment option before the start of their BC treatment. It is equally important to find ways to help API women in the community who do not have BC, to learn about BC CT that are recruiting healthy women. For example, there are studies for BC prevention and detection. Overall, helping all API women to be more aware of BC CT and their importance to API women should help them to feel more positively about BC CT, and should increase their interest in learning about the BC CT in which they could participate, and their likelihood of participation.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 This pilot project’s goal is to develop an API-friendly resource package of BC CT educational materials and dissemination strategies for use in a subsequent community-wide BC CT awareness campaign. The campaign would promote API women’s participation in BC CT. The resource package would contain ideas for using the educational materials to communicate the message about why it is important for API women to participate in BC CT. The CCP will work with its BC Advisory, Advocacy, and Action Council, and API community members, to create the resource package for the campaign.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Question(s) or hypotheses: Can the CCP, working with its community advisors and members of the API community, create a culturally appropriate resource package that can be used to promote API women’s participation in BC CT?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 General methodology: This project uses community-based participatory research. The community identified the problem addressed in this proposal and will work with the CCP to develop the resource package and design the campaign. Before proposing this project, CCP interviewed 45 API women to obtain their ideas on how to promote BC CT participation by API women. From these interviews, the CCP decided the best approach would be to create a “resource package” containing many ideas and materials that could be used. Because the API community is so diverse, it is important to have many ways to reach API women from different community subgroups. So, for this project, the CCP, the Council, and API community members will collaborate to develop a wide variety of materials and strategies that will communicate a positive message about BC CT participation. API women from the community will be interviewed and their ideas and feedback used to develop and improve the resource package of materials and strategies, until it is ready for use in a BC CT awareness campaign for API. The materials and strategies will be varied and offered with suggestions for adapting and translating them for different API subgroups. They will be designed for use in traditional API cultural settings: cultural celebrations, social and family gatherings and API media. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Innovative elements: A new set of BC CT educational materials and strategies for using them will be developed for use in an API community-wide BC CT awareness campaign.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Community involvement: This project arose from Operation Samahan, a community organization that had received a grant to build a multi-organization, community-based infrastructure to find ways to improve the API community’s health. The project’s two campus partners were invited to join this collaboration to help generate community-based research studies that addressed community needs. The Council consists of API BC advocates, survivors, and family members, and will advise on all aspects of the project. API community members will guide the development of the resource package and planned campaign.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Future Plans: The partnership will test the effectiveness of a community awareness campaign using the newly developed resource package to positively impact the API community’s BC CT-related knowledge, attitudes, and behavior.