LACRC
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About the LACRC
The Latin American Cancer Research Coalition (LACRC) is an academic-community partnership funded through the National Cancer Institute which provides an infrastructure to address the unique cancer control needs of Latinos of Central and South American ancestry in the greater metropolitan Washington, DC area.
One of the main goals of the LACRC is to bridge the gaps between research discovery, health care delivery systems, and developing, testing, evaluating and disseminating culturally competent cancer control interventions. The LACRC collaborates with community partners and advocacy groups to develop disparities research along the spectrum of cancer control— from primary prevention through end of life care.
Since the inception of the Community Network Program (CNP) in 2005, the Coalition of researchers, community clinics and partners has successfully obtained a total of nearly 7 million dollars in additional funding of faculty and community partners for several research projects focusing on the cancer control needs of DC area Latinos. LACRC research topics have included tobacco control, energy balance, cultural health values, breast cancer risk perception and risk comprehension, mammography adherence, breast cancer treatment decision making, patient navigation and the influence of culture on end of life decision making. Since 2000, the LACRC has published its findings in 23 articles.
In addition to research, the LACRC has focused on three levels of training in community-based intervention research to reduce cancer disparities: training staff at community clinics that serve uninsured Latinos to act as cancer control coordinators; training students in social marketing to Latinos to reduce cancer disparities; and training junior faculty.
In this final year of the CNP, the LACRC will evaluate its data as well as its research and training experiences and will use this information in planning future research and interventions that might be implemented within the LACRC infrastructure.
