Developing a Partnership Model for Cancer Screening with Community‐Based Organizations: The ACCESS Breast Cancer Education and Outreach Project

• Published in: American journal of community psychology 2006-12, Vol.38 (3-4), p.287-297
• Main Authors: Rapkin, Bruce D., Massie, Mary Jane, Jansky, Elizabeth J., Lounsbury, David W., Murphy, Paulette D., Powell, Shemeeakah
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Academic Medical Centers; Access; Adult; Alliances; Barriers to care; Breast Cancer; Breast Neoplasms - epidemiology; Cancer; Cancer Care Facilities; Community; Community based preventive programmes; Community Health Planning - organization & administration; Community-based partnerships; Community-Institutional Relations - standards; Cooperation; Demography; Disadvantaged; Educational partnerships; Female; Harm Reduction; Health Care Services; Health disparities; Health Education; Health promotion; Humans; Interprofessional Relations; Intervention; Mass Screening - methods; Mass Screening - organization & administration; Medical screening; Medically underserved; Middle Aged; Organizational Affiliation; Outreach programmes; Participatory research methods; Program development; Public health; Screening; Underserved people; United States
• ISSN: 0091-0562; 1573-2770
• DOI: 10.1007/s10464-006-9071-2

There is growing enthusiasm for community‐academic partnerships to promote health in underserved communities. Drawing upon resources available at a comprehensive cancer center, we developed the ACCESS program to guide community based organizations through a flexible program planning process. Over a three‐year period, ACCESS partnered with 67 agencies serving various medically underserved populations. Organizations included hospitals, parishes, senior centers, harm reduction programs, and recreational facilities. Program outcomes at the organizational level were quantified in terms of introduction of new cancer information, referral or screening programs, as well as organizational capacity building. ACCESS represents a viable model for promoting partnership to transfer behavioral health programs and adapt interventions for new audiences. Plans to further evaluate and enhance this model to promote cancer screening efforts are discussed. We argue that, ultimately, formation and development of community partnerships need to be understood as a fundamental area of practice that must be systematically integrated into the mission of major academic medical institutions in every area of public health.