Goals and Aims

Discover

Study nature, scope, severity and determinants of cancer disparities affecting patients in the DCI catchment

• Examine key risk factors (molecular, social, epidemiologic, environmental, policy)
• Make new discoveries in novel therapy
• Determine why certain cancers affect some communities, population groups more

Disseminate

Increase awareness through community outreach activities and education

• Multi-directional education with community, scientists, and policy maker
• Develop locally relevant solutions to challenges of health equity

Impact

Build partnerships to develop culturally relevant interventions to reduce cancer disparities

• Reduce known cancer risk factors
• Increase screening and early detection
• Remove access barriers to genetic/genomic testing and clinical trials
• Improve access to primary care and post-treatment supportive care

Consultations

Contact us for a consultation to provide information and assistance on the best approaches to recruit groups into cancer research who experience significant health disparities in North Carolina. These groups include but are not limited to: LGBTQ communities, people with disabilities, African Americans, rural populations, American Indians, Asian populations, Latinx groups, and those in the most vulnerable age categories: children and older adults. 

To request a consultation or for additional questions, email us at DCICOEE@dm.duke.edu.

Learn More About What We Do

Read our latest quarterly newsletters.

• COEE Newsletter January 2024 (PDF, 12.8 MB)
• COEE Newsletter September 2023 (PDF, 12.9 MB)
• COEE Newsletter May 2023 (PDF, 10.9 MB)

Patient Navigation Services

Our patient navigators are trained to work closely with people in the community before and when a cancer-related concern becomes known. Their services include:

• Bilingual education on cancer prevention, risk factors, and screening guidelines.
• Connecting people with recommended cancer screenings, treatment needs, and finding a primary care provider or medical home.
• Helping people find financial assistance for needed cancer-related medical care.
• Directing people to healthcare services for further diagnosis and referral for treatment navigation.
• Keep track of and help people get to their medical appointments.
• Coordinate care with people’s medical teams.

The patient navigators serve everyone in the community regardless of insurance or documentation status.

For more information, contact navigators LaSonia Barnett and Kimberly Bradsher.

In-Person and Virtual Community Events

Our team organizes free prevention and screening events and participates in community events, health fairs, and church gatherings to connect with people from historically underserved populations. Our team distributes information in person and virtually to increase awareness about the risks of cancer and help people in these communities find ways to overcome barriers such as not having health insurance.

Men’s Health Screening and Awareness Event

Each year, we partners with Duke Primary Care-Croasdaile, and Lincoln Community Health Center (a local federally qualified health center), to host a free Men's Health Screening and Awareness event aimed at improving the health outcomes of men in the community. Taking place the first weekend of June, the event offers screenings for prostate, skin, and colon cancers, as well as lung cancer risk assessments. Educational resources and assessments for chronic health conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, and HIV/Hepatitis C are also provided. 

Patient navigators work with participants who receive abnormal test or screening results and concerning findings to help address health concerns by connecting them with accessible, comprehensive, and high-quality primary and specialty care, health education resources, and/or additional patient navigation services. Learn more about Men's Health Screening. 

Women’s Health Awareness Day

The team provides cancer education and screenings during Women’s Health Awareness Day, an annual conference typically held in April that aims to increase awareness and knowledge among women to help promote better health.

The cancer education sessions feature experts and cancer survivors who provide women with information about cancer risk factors, prevention, relevant and recommended screening guidelines, and helpful information related to a survivor’s personal journey with cancer. The cancer screening room generally includes multiple recommended cancer screening and patient navigation services to follow up on any abnormal or concerning findings.

The health conference is sponsored by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), the Durham Alumnae Chapter of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., the Durham Alumnae Delta House, Inc., and the Public Health Education Department at North Carolina Central University (NCCU).

Community Health Ambassador Program – Virtual Training

Team members provide virtual trainings for leaders in faith and community organizations to teach them how to spread the word about preventing and screening for cancer, hypertension, and diabetes. The leaders also learn how to set up a health advocacy team or health ministry within their own organization. So far, the program has reached more than 50 organizations in 40 North Carolina counties.

The team has worked with the trained Community Health Ambassadors to develop programs for their specific communities.  For example, we coordinated virtual events providing information on specific types of cancers to include a Spanish-language Facebook Live event organized with the Mexican Consulate in Raleigh which drew 469 participants.

Community Partners

Community Outreach and Engagement Foundational Training Modules

Access Module 1 CITI Training

• Go to your CITI member page and click on “View Courses” next to Duke Health.
• Scroll down and click “Add a Course."
• Select “Community-Engaged and Community-Based Participatory Research.” Click Next. The course will be added to your queue.

Access Module 2 LMS Training

• Go to Duke LMS site and search for the offering ID: 00169473. The following course details will be made available : Name: Duke Cancer Institute COEE Foundational Training: Duke Hospital and Durham History Course ID: COEE_HISTORY_03072022 Offering ID: 00169473
• Click “Register” underneath the course details to register for the course. The course will then be added for you to complete under ‘My learning"

CREST Dashboard

The CREST Dashboard is a comprehensive, multilevel data warehouse that facilitates the evaluation of the cancer burden and disparities in the DCI catchment area.  CREST integrates data from the Duke Cancer Registry, Duke EHR, state cancer registries (NC, SC, VA), and contextual measures of social determinants of health.  CREST enables DCI scientists to identify areas in need of targeted efforts to eliminate health disparities, advance cancer health equity, and reduce the burden of cancer in our catchment area and beyond

Specific Aims

1. Curate Duke Cancer Institute patient data to understand the needs of our patient population.
2. Analyze NC Cancer Registry data to identify the burden of cancer in our catchment area and in NC.
3. Examine the impact of social determinants of health in cancer outcomes in catchment area and NC.
4. Examine the prevalence and trends in key cancer risk factors in catchment area and NC.
5. Be responsive to data needs and requests from community partners and DCI investigators using CREST infrastructure to interrogate cancer data in NC and/or catchment area.

Access the CREST Dashboard

You must be logged into the DHS VPN to access the Dashboard.

New Users

Please review and complete the COEE Foundation Training on LMS for context to the data presented in the dashboard. Once completed, request access to the CREST dashboard. 

Feedback Survey

Please complete our survey to let us know what can be improved in the dashboard.