Abstract A36: Tampa Bay Community Cancer Network: Community partnerships to advance the science of cancer health disparities in the medically underserved

Target population: Academics, clinicians, researchers, adult educators and community members who have an interest in the impact of intersections of cancer, community partnerships and research on cancer health disparities and health outcomes.

Background: The Tampa Bay Community Cancer Network (TBCCN) is one of 25 Community Network Programs funded by the NCI to create a collaborative infrastructure of academic and community based organizations to develop effective and sustainable interventions to impact cancer health disparities. Through effective community partnerships, TBCCN has fostered the application of a community based participatory research (CBPR) framework, for the conduct of beneficial research, education programs and interventions among underserved populations. Using the basic tenets of CBPR, TBCCN has leveraged resources for cancer disparities research projects that focus on the medically underserved.

Objectives: 1) To examine the importance of community-academic partnerships in the conceptualization and development of community-based cancer research; 2) To discuss the process of using CBPR approaches to develop research projects for mutual academic-community benefit; and 3) To explore the challenges and successes of conducting community-based research.

Results: Based on the tenets of CBPR, two pilot projects have been funded and completed: 1) Colorectal Cancer in Ethnic Subgroups of U.S. Blacks: Exploring Diversity [Dr. Clement Gwede - UO1 CA1142627-01S3]; and, 2) Barbers against Prostate Cancer [Dr. Juan Luque UO1CA11426-02S2]. In addition, drawing on the strengths, capacities, and needs of our community partners, we have conducted smaller research projects that have led to larger RO3 funding [Cervical Cancer Beliefs in Ethnic Subgroups of Latina Immigrants - R03CA138123-01].

Implications: We expect that the insights gained from our experiences can be transported to other institutions and researchers interested in advancing the science of cancer health disparities through community partnerships.