Community Outreach & Translation

Each of the four centers has a Community Outreach & Translation Core (COTC) that is tasked with ensuring that the views and concerns of the breast cancer advocate community are heard and that the research findings are disseminated to the public. Members of the COTCs include breast cancer advocates, public health professionals, researchers, and community-based organizations. While each COTC has its own goals, they do collaborate together on issues of mutual concern. Each COTC has a member actively participating in the biology project and a member actively participating in the epidemiologic study. For more information on each COTC's activities, scroll down or click on the center name.

Janice Barlow

The Community Outreach and Translation Core (COTC) of the Bay Area Breast Cancer and Environment Research Center focuses on developing strategies to translate new research discoveries and the Center's scientific findings to diverse communities, including health care providers, public health professionals, breast cancer advocacy groups, environmental organizations, policy makers and interested adult and youth members of three Bay Area Counties: Alameda, Marin and San Francisco.

Regular interactions among the Center's scientific projects and community members are conducted to facilitate communication and education about breast cancer, the role environmental factors, and the research process: workshops and town meetings will continue to focus on community concerns, will explore ethical issues of research on children, and attempt to expand the COTC reach. First year activities were:

1. Two Community Co-Investigators attend monthly meetings of the scientific projects and infuse community perspectives into the design of research protocols
2. Community meetings held in San Francisco Bay View Hunters Point, Marin, and Alameda County to enhance interactions of project scientists, COTC, and community participants
3. Community forum “Critical Issues in Biomonitoring” (October 9, 2004) brought nationally recognized speakers to up-date the community about the art and science of biomonitoring and its significance in research on environmental influences in breast cancer development.

Charles Atkin

The Michigan State University COTC is comprised of community advocates and faculty members from the Department of Communication. Our goal is to work together to increase awareness about breast cancer based on state of the science evidence. For example, an educational and fundraising program entitled Meal Patterning for Breast Health, was organized and implemented by community advocates in coalition with other university and community sponsors. We have also conducted ten focus groups across four counties in Michigan to gain an understanding of adolescent and adult females' perceptions and understanding of breast cancer and the environment. We are currently piloting a random phone survey across Michigan to further our formative research. This information will help us to develop tailored health messages to target audiences, particularly adolescent females. Finally, MSU has a project website under construction that will explain our activities as well as provide another source for breast cancer information.

Luz Claudio

Knowledge, both general and disease-specific, plays an important role in the prevention of disease outcomes. This is especially true with environmentally-caused diseases because these are often preventable, either by avoidance of the individual’s exposure or by community actions. For this reason, it is important that results of research in environmental health sciences be translated and communicated effectively to people who are most likely to benefit.

The Community Outreach and Translation Core of Mount Sinai School of Medicine aims to provide a vehicle for bi-directional communication between research scientists and community participants. The Core draws from the cultural richness of East Harlem to increase environmental health knowledge. Activities include:

• Educational Workshops
• Newsletters
• Fact-sheets

Both scientists and study participants contribute to the communication effort. It is expected that the activities of the COTC will increase the immediate benefits to the community and will enhance participation and retention of study participants.

Katie Brown

The goal of the Cincinnati Community Outreach & Translation Core is to work with breast cancer survivors and their advocacy, education, support and service organizations to enhance the public's understanding of the environmental factors which may impact female development and breast cancer. Four Specific Aims have been identified:

1. Co-sponsor public education programs about the environmental factors associated with female development and breast cancer.
2. Conduct targeted educational programs about the environmental factors associated with female development and breast cancer.
3. Train volunteers to assist with the human health study.
4. Maintain a support network for study families with a history of breast cancer to address concerns & questions about cancer genetics and communication strategies for discussing cancer risks.

An Advisory Network meets bi-monthly to guide this agenda. Advocates/survivors co-chair six standing committees: Education, Research, READ, Funding, Support Network and Special Projects. For more information, e-mail growingupfemale@uc.edu.

View the Trading Space poster (PDF file, 1.9 MB) presented at the Princeton meeting.