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Dr. Rebecca Jones of UT Health San Antonio has been approved for a 2-year, $250,000 funding award through the Eugene Washington PCORI Engagement Awards (Engagement Awards) program, an initiative of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI).
The funds will support the creation of the Creando Conexiones: Cancer Health Equity Research Agenda, which will outline research priorities identified by South Texas cancer survivors, caregivers, and community members.
Join the Creando Conexiones coalition!
“We know that research has the most impact when guided by voices of cancer survivors and community members,” said Jones, assistant director of the Institute for Health Promotion Research and part of the Mays Cancer Center at UT Health San Antonio. “With their input, we can create research and programs that are truly responsive to our local cancer issues.”
Creando Conexiones is part of a portfolio of projects that PCORI has funded to help develop a community of patients and other stakeholders equipped to participate as partners in patient-centered comparative clinical effectiveness research (CER).
Through the Engagement Award Program, PCORI is creating an expansive network of individuals, communities and organizations interested in and able to participate in, share, and use patient-centered CER.
“This project was selected for Engagement Award funding because it will build a community equipped to participate as partners in CER and develop partnerships and infrastructure to disseminate PCORI-funded research results,” according to Greg Martin, PCORI’s Chief of Engagement, Dissemination and Implementation. “We look forward to working with UT Health San Antonio throughout the course of their 2-year project.”
The Need for a Patient-Inspired Cancer Research Agenda in South Texas
In South Texas, people have higher risk of liver cancer, cervical cancer, and pediatric leukemia than the nation.
“Health inequities, including higher rates of uninsured adults and children, fewer health-promoting built environments, and difficulty accessing healthcare contribute to these cancer health disparities,” Jones said.
The Mays Cancer Center is conducting research, training, and outreach to address these disparities.
That work includes the Community Outreach and Engagement (COE) team and the American Cancer Society-supported “Avanzando Equidad de Salud: Latino Cancer Health Equity Research Center,” both led by Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, leader of Salud America! and director of the Institute for Health Promotion Research at UT Health San Antonio.
However, the COE team needs cancer survivors and caregivers to guide its efforts.
That is the aim of the Creando Conexiones: Cancer Health Equity Research Agenda, Jones said.
To create the research agenda, Jones and her team will convene the Creando Conexiones coalition of cancer survivors and caregivers, host discussion groups and strategic planning sessions with survivors and caregivers, interview key stakeholders at the Mays Cancer Center, conduct a survey, and host planning meetings and a community forum.
The agenda, in turn, will help fuel new patient-centered clinical comparative effectiveness research.
Join the Creando Conexiones coalition!
“We aim to treat all patients using the most effective, appropriate therapy by increasing access to timely quality cancer diagnostic and treatment services,” Jones said. “We also seek to optimize quality of life by improving the physical and mental health of cancer survivors who receive care at Mays Cancer Center and across South Texas.”
Share Your Voice to Guide the Cancer Research Agenda in South Texas
Are you a cancer survivor or caregiver?
You can join the Creando Conexiones coalition to help guide research, outreach, and training at the Mays Cancer Center at UT Health San Antonio!
Coalition members can be:
- Individuals who live in the Mays Cancer Center 38-county South Texas catchment area;
- English or Spanish speakers;
- A survivor or caregiver touched by liver cancer, cervical cancer, and/or pediatric leukemia; or
- A researcher engaging in research related to liver cancer, cervical cancer, and/or pediatric leukemia; or
- A clinician or oncologist who provides care or treat patients with liver cancer, cervical cancer, and/or pediatric leukemia.
Coalition members meet monthly. The coalition is directed by an executive committee and a core team led by Jones.
Join the Creando Conexiones coalition!
If you have any questions, contact the program team at coe@uthscsa.edu or 210- 450-8985.
By The Numbers
142
Percent
Expected rise in Latino cancer cases in coming years
