Community Outreach & Health Literacy Michelle Tropper, MPH NYU Cancer Institute

Tisch Hospital 24.2% of population served is foreign- born Bellevue Hospital Nation’s oldest and NYC largest public hospital Over 70% of patients are foreign-born Majority of patients uninsured and publicly insured Woodhull Hospital Primary safety net provider for North Brooklyn 49% of the population is uninsured Numerous Community Health Centers Languages spoken: Spanish, Mandarin Cantonese, Bengali, Polish, Japanese, French, Italian, Russian, Haitian Creole, and Urdu NYU C ANCER I NSTITUTE P OPULATION NYC Community Health Profiles, 2006

NYU L ANGONE M EDICAL C ENTER H EALTH L ITERACY C OUNCIL Coordinates health literacy & plain language initiatives throughout the medical center Collaborative council that helps coordinate the creation, revision and translation of documents, instructions and literature for patients, families, visitors & employees including: Patient education Consent forms Wayfinding Notices Signage Multi-disciplinary membership

C OMMUNITY O UTREACH & E DUCATION P ROGRAM M ISSION & G OALS The mission of the Community Outreach and Education program is to connect the local, national and international communities to NYU Cancer Institute by raising awareness, educating and improving access to evidence-based patient care and research. We fulfill our mission and the mission of the Cancer Institute by continually striving to reach the following goals: increase the presence of the Cancer Institute enhance oncology services for all communities promote prevention and early detection of cancer develop and promote education and support programs promote the findings of translational research

P LAIN L ANGUAGE C ONSULTATION

R ECURRING C OMMUNITY O UTREACH E VENTS January/February Updates From San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium June Faces of Cancer (survivorship event) March Colorectal Cancer Awareness Lunchtime Seminar Head and Neck Cancer Screening September Prostate Cancer Awareness Program Women of Color Conference (began in 2010) April Skin Cancer Awareness Lunchtime Seminar October Breast Cancer Awareness Program May Skin Cancer Screening Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Lunchtime Seminar November Lung Cancer Awareness Lunchtime Seminar Monthly: Spanish, English, Chinese Support Bellevue Prostate Cancer Education Series (Man to Man ACS)

Unique Programs to Address Disparities & Barriers Overarching StrategiesCancer Prevention & Early Detection Cancer Care & Clinical Trials Improving Cancer Survivorship Bilingual staff & navigators Interpreting systems Language-specific educational programs & materials AMBER- Arab American Breast Cancer Education and Referral program Health Literacy Prevalence Assessment Enable access to free community screenings & care Build community relationships Patient navigation to services & clinical trials Lifestyle Counseling and Patient Navigation on Blood Pressure Control and Colorectal Cancer Screening in Black Men Community-based Approaches to Colorectal Cancer Prevention in Black Men Integrated Breast Cancer Care for Medically Underserved Multi-Ethnic Women Family Caregivers Strengths and Skills in Managing Older Cancer Patients Symptoms Enable access to treatment and participation in studies tailored to needs of patients Patient navigation to services & clinical trials A faculty which closely matches the populations served Optimally Informed Consent to Therapy and/or Participation in Clinical Research at Bellevue Hospital Center Multi-Center Study of Concurrent Paclitaxel & Radiation: Correlation of Tumor Profiles with Pathological Response Problem-solving training for Family Caregivers to Korean American Older Cancer Survivors Lymphedema Assistance Program at NYU O VERCOMING D ISPARITIES & B ARRIERS

H EALTH L ITERACY P REVALENCE A SSESSMENT Assess prevalence of low health literacy amongst cancer patients and caregivers at NYU Cancer Institute locations. Inform further assessment of the current standard for patient education materials. Assess the need for patient navigators to help communicate the importance of follow-up and to reinforce messages about healthy behaviors. Potential to seek funding as a collaborative learning project for implementing systems change that addresses patient education. Conduct assessment as pilot project at NYU Cancer Institute. Share findings with Collaborative and explore opportunities for implementation of systems changes in member organizations.