About Cancer Care Equity Program
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute – Cancer Care Equity Program
Established in January 2012, the Cancer Care Equity Program (CCEP) aims to place Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at the forefront of efforts to reduce disparities in cancer outcomes for historically marginalized groups locally, in the Greater Boston area, as well as become a national model for translating cancer equity research into interventions.
The Role of the CCEP Is to
- Facilitate clinical access to Dana-Farber’s spectrum of preventive medicine, treatment, and clinical trials
- Partner with Community Benefits Office to enhance and expand Dana-Farber’s community outreach and educational programs
- Initiate and unite cancer equity research across Dana-Farber
Through these efforts, the CCEP broadens access to historically marginalized patient populations and joins our community partners in the pursuit of equitable care across the spectrum of cancer-related disease.
Clinical Outreach Initiative
The Cancer Care Equity Program (CCEP) holds on-site cancer outreach clinics at Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) staffed by a Dana-Farber clinical team, including a Physician Assistant, Nurse Director, Social Worker, Genetics Counselor, and Patient Navigator. Clinical services include:
- Cancer screening
- Diagnostic workups and follow-up care
- Reconnection to cancer care
- Referrals for second opinions
- Genetic cancer risk evaluations and testing
- Cancer survivorship care
- Provider and community education
- Patient navigation
Primary care providers at outreach clinic sites can refer adult patients with:
- New, existing, or past cancer diagnosis
- Benign hematology diagnosis (neutropenia, anemia, clotting disorders, thrombocytopenia)
- Breast issues (abnormal mammography studies, lumps, pain, or discharge)
- Any worrisome (cancer related) symptoms without clear cause (lumps, bumps, bruises, weight loss)
If a patient has an active cancer issue, the CCEP navigates them to Dana-Farber and/or another cancer facility for further care. For benign issues, the CCEP connects patients to specialty care for follow-up. The program’s goal is to reduce disparities in cancer diagnosis and treatment for historically marginalized communities by:
- Decreasing wait times for diagnosis and treatment of cancer
- Increasing awareness and knowledge of cancer prevention and treatment
- Fostering trust with providers and patients
- Creating a research cohort of patients for observational and interventional studies
- Increasing enrollment of diverse populations in clinical trials
- Creating a model for addressing the health disparities gap in cancer care
Community-Focused Patient Navigation
The CCEP’s Clinical Outreach Initiative demonstrates the benefit of community-based cancer care and patient navigation services and strengthens the need to expand services across Dana-Farber sites.
In continuation of this work, the CCEP is piloting a Community-Focused Patient Navigation integration model within Dana-Farber Treatment Centers to address persistent health inequities and barriers to obtaining high quality cancer care for adult patients from historically marginalized populations. Inspired by Dr. Harold Freeman’s principles of patient navigation, the CCEP’s goal is to proactively engage with these patients at point of cancer detection, eliminate barriers to timely diagnosis and treatment, and help navigate health care system complexities and logistics throughout the care continuum.
Cancer Equity Research
The CCEP fosters a supportive, inter-disciplinary environment for cancer disparities research. Research objectives include:
- Forming a diverse research cohort accessible to researchers from Dana-Farber and Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center (DF/HCC) for observational and qualitative studies
- Engaging communities in conversations about cancer clinical trials for populations who have been historically excluded/exploited
- Facilitating cancer disparities research across disciplines
Addressing Cancer Inequities Video
To learn more about the Cancer Care Equity Program please visit:
https://www.dana-farber.org/research/departments-centers/cancer-care-equity