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We conducted a 12-month pilot study of 2 complementary strategies for improving rural cancer survivorship outcomes: (1) Project ECHO, a telementoring model to increase knowledge and skills about cancer survivorship among multidisciplinary health care provider teams in rural areas and (2) patient navigation (PN) services to connect rural cancer survivors with resources for enhancing health and wellness.We recruited 4 CDC-funded National Comprehensive Cancer Control Program sites to implement Project ECHO and PN interventions for a defined rural population in each of their jurisdictions. Sites received ongoing technical assistance and a stipend to support implementation. We conducted a mixed-methods evaluation consisting of quantitative performance monitoring data and qualitative interviews with site staff to assess implementation.Site teams delivered 21 cancer survivorship ECHO sessions to rural providers resulting in 329 participant encounters. Almost all (93%) ECHO participants reported enhanced knowledge of cancer survivorship issues, and 80% reported intent to apply learnings to their practices. Site teams engaged 16 patient navigators who navigated 164 cancer survivors during the study period. Successful implementation required strong partnerships, clear avenues for recruitment of rural providers and cancer survivors, and activities tailored to local needs. Fostering ongoing relationships among sites through community of practice calls also enhanced implementation.Sites successfully implemented a novel approach for enhancing care for cancer survivors in rural communities. Pairing Project ECHO to address structural barriers and PN to address individual factors affecting survivorship may help bridge the health equity gap experienced by cancer survivors in rural communities.

Achieving health equity requires addressing social determinants of health. Promoting health equity as it relates to cancer control is one of six priorities of the National Comprehensive Cancer Control Program (NCCCP). This article describes recent activities implemented by three NCCCP awardees (North-west Portland Area Indian Health Board, Kansas, Michigan) and the CDC-funded National Behavior Health Network (NBHN), whose aim is to reduce health disparities among those with mental health and/or substance disorders. North-west Portland administered tribal surveys to help better understand tribal cancer-related risk factors, health behaviors, provide baseline data to support their cancer plan, and obtain resources for targeted interventions. Kansas established a health equity workgroup with a vision of addressing health equity through implementation and uptake of activities among all Kansans. Michigan provided trainings in health equity and social justice and developed health equity learning labs. As a result of the successful implementation of the NBHN’s Community of Practice, individuals currently living with mental illness and/or substance disorders have had increased access to tobacco cessation and other cancer support services. These efforts and key opportunities for public health practitioners and their partners to increase engagement in cancer health equity are summarized in this article.

Background: About 30,000 women die each year from gynecologic cancer in the U.S., which disproportionately affects women from underserved populations. To improve gynecologic cancer awareness and outcomes, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Inside Knowledge: Get the Facts about Gynecologic Cancer (IK) campaign was developed and educates women about risk factors, symptoms, recommended screening, and prevention strategies for ovarian, uterine, cervical, vaginal, and vulvar cancers. CDC also funds a network of national organizations to specifically reduce cancer-related health disparities. Methods: We fostered a partnership between three organizations in CDC's cancer disparity reducing national network consortium and the IK campaign to deliver tailored educational sessions using IK materials. The National Behavioral Health Network (NBHN), which helps those with mental illnesses and addictions; Nuestras Voces (NV), which helps Hispanics; and the Selfmade, which helps those of low socioeconomic status, participated in this study. These organizations administered pre- and post-session surveys to assess changes in gynecologic cancer knowledge. Results: Overall, 125 women participated in six educational sessions held by NBHN, NV, and Selfmade. NBHN session attendees had significantly increased knowledge that smoking increases risk for cervical cancer (78.1% pre-session vs. 94.6% post-session). NV session attendees significantly increased their awareness of never having given birth/infertility as a risk factor for ovarian cancer (16.7% pre-session and 42.1% post-session). Among SHM attendees, 100% correctly identified family history as a risk factor for ovarian cancer, and significantly more participants correctly identified Ashkenazi Jewish background as an ovarian cancer risk factor (18.2% pre-session vs. 79.4% post-session). Knowledge about HPV vaccine prevention for cervical, vaginal, and vulvar cancers was significantly increased among only NV and Selfmade attendees (54.6% pre-session vs. 82.1% post-session and 30.3% pre-session vs. 85.7% post-session, respectively. Attendees in all sessions increased correct identification of some gynecologic cancer symptoms, but specific changes varied by organization. Conclusions: Holding facilitated educational sessions with IK materials was effective in increasing awareness of gynecologic cancer among many women across organizations participating in this study; however, uptake of information differed by organization. Additional resources that contain specific interventions most appropriate to a particular underserved population (e.g., receipt of HPV vaccine among Hispanic women) may be beneficial for increasing healthy behaviors that lead to a reduction in gynecologic cancer disparities. Citation Format: Mary C. Puckett, Julie S. Townsend, Jenny R. Patterson, Ena Wanliss, Sherri L. Stewart. Utilizing Inside Knowledge materials to improve gynecologic cancer knowledge in underserved populations [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Eleventh AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2018 Nov 2-5; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2020;29(6 Suppl):Abstract nr A062.