Developing a community action plan to eliminate cancer disparities: lessons learned.

BACKGROUND: African Americans bear an unequal burden of breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer. The Deep South Network for Cancer Control (DSN) is a community-academic partnership operating in Alabama and Mississippi that was funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to address cancer disparities using community-based participatory research approaches. OBJECTIVE: In addition to reporting on the plans of this work in progress, we describe the participatory process that local residents and the DSN used to identify needs and priorities, and elaborate on lessons learned from applying a participatory approach to the development of a community action plan. METHODS: We conducted 24 community discussion groups involving health care professionals, government officials, faith-based leaders, and other stakeholders to identify cancer health disparity needs, community resources/assets, and county priorities to eliminate cancer health disparities. To develop a community action plan, four working groups explored the themes that emerged from the discussion groups, taking into consideration evidence-based strategies and promising community practices. RESULTS: The DSN formulated a community action plan focusing on (1) increasing physical activity by implementing a campaign for individual-level focused activity; (2) increasing the consumption of fruits and vegetables by implementing NCI's Body and Soul Program in local churches; (3) increasing cancer screening by raising awareness through individual, system, and provider agents of change; and (4) training community partners to become effective advocates. CONCLUSIONS: A community-academic partnership must involve trust, respect, and an appreciation of partners' strengths and differences. The DSN applied these guiding principles and learned pivotal lessons.

Addressing disparities through coalition building: Alabama REACH 2010 lessons learned.

Community-based coalitions have become accepted vehicles for addressing complex health problems. Few articles have described the challenges and lessons learned from such a process. The purpose of this paper is two-fold: 1) to describe the processes involved in building and maintaining the REACH 2010 Alabama Breast and Cervical Cancer Control Coalition (ABCCCC) and 2) to highlight the lessons learned from this venture. Principles from community-based participatory research were used 1) to establish and maintain the ABCCCC, 2) to build coalition capacity, and 3) to develop breast and cervical cancer interventions. Over 95% of our coalition has been maintained over a 7-year period. The ABCCCC received a total of 17 breast and cervical cancer mini-grants. Adherence to ground rules such as exhibiting respect and trust and practicing open communication helped to solidify our partnership. Lessons learned from the ABCCCC can provide others with an in-depth exploration of the processes involved in coalition formation and maintenance.