Are We Missing the Mark? The Implementation of Community Based Participatory Education in Cancer Disparities Curriculum Development

OBJECTIVE: The Chicago south side, even more so than national populations, continues to be burdened with widening gaps of disparities in cancer outcomes. Therefore, Chicago community members were engaged in addressing the following content areas for a cancer disparities curriculum: (1) the south side Chicago community interest in participating in curriculum design, (2) how community members should be involved in designing cancer disparities curriculum, and (3) what community members believe the curriculum should address to positively impact their community.

METHODS: Eighty-six community members from 19 different zip code areas of Chicago attended the deliberative session. A survey composed of three quantitative and three short-answer content questions was analyzed.

RESULTS: The majority of participants were from the south side of Chicago (62 %) and females (86 %). Most, 94 %, believed community members should be involved in cancer disparities curriculum development. Moreover, 56 % wanted to be involved in designing the curriculum, and 61 % reported an interest in taking a course in cancer disparities. Three categorical themes were derived from the qualitative questions: (1) community empowerment through disparities education-"a prescription for change," (2) student skill development in community engagement and advocacy training, and (3) community expression of shared experiences in cancer health disparities.

CONCLUSION: The community provided valuable input for curricular content and has an interest in collaborating on cancer disparities curriculum design. Community participation must be galvanized to improve disparities curricular development and delivery to successfully address the challenges of eliminating disparities in health.