Community Outreach and Engagement Strategies to Address Breast Cancer Disparities

Abstract

Abstract Purpose of Review Breast cancer disproportionately affects racial/ethnic minority women compared with their non-Hispanic white counterparts. Community-based researchers have long sought to reduce breast cancer-related health disparities using the core principles of community outreach and engagement. The primary goal of this paper is to discuss community outreach and engagement (COE) strategies in the context of breast cancer disparities and discuss evidence-based applications of COE. Recent Findings Evidence-based COE to address breast cancer disparities include patient navigation, co-development of community-based interventions, advisory boards, and patient boards. Recent strategies have included partnering with the Komen Tissue Bank, the development of culturally tailored expressive writing interventions, and the formation of community scientist and community mentorship programs. Summary Partnering with the community across all stages of research can help eliminate breast cancer disparities. We find that community outreach and engagement can improve intervention efficacy, clinical trial retention, and community commitment. We hope that this paper will promote greater adoption of evidence-based COE strategies to help eliminate breast cancer disparities.