Community Ambassadors to Cancer Research

The Community Ambassadors to Cancer Research project brings together American Indian and Latino community members to learn about research.  In our pilot of the program, community members met with researchers once a month for 16 months from 2009 – 2010, alternating between the Kansas City Indian Center and el Centro, Inc.  During that time, they learned about different types of research, difference cancers, and how to write grants.  The goal of the project was to help create teams of community members and researchers who would use community-based participatory research to help reduce cancer-related health disparities in both communities.  Community-based participatory research is the type of research that AIHREA uses.  It involves community members at all phases of the research process, from picking a topic to conducting the research to reporting the findings. Participants in the program formed groups and met with researchers to write grants focused on different cancer-related topics.  Project topics included prostate cancer, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, and cervical cancer and HPV.  We are now talking with participants to determine the best way to continue the program.