Outreach Core

Contacts 

University of Arizona Cancer Center

Core Co-Lead: Julie Armin PhD, jarmin@arizona.edu 

Kharen Morgan, MPH – Outreach Specialist, kharenm@arizona.edu

Northern Arizona University

Core Co-Lead: Nicolette Teufel-Shone PhD, nicky.teufel@nau.edu 

Carol Goldtooth, MPH – Outreach Coordinator, carol.goldtooth@nau.edu

NACP Outreach Goals 

The goal of the Outreach and Engagement Core of the Partnership for Native American Cancer Prevention is to strengthen the capacity and infrastructure to provide sustained, community-based cancer education, research, and care services to advance cancer health equity. A guiding principle of the OEC is collaboration, specifically the continuation and expansion of partnerships with institutional partners, Native Nations and Native American-serving entities to build regional capacity through coalition building, supporting tribes’ own efforts to bring cancer-related services to their citizens, and mentoring NACP investigator teams to disseminate relevant research results to Native Nations. 

Aims

In this funding cycle, OEC will support Arizona’s (AZ) Native Nations and Native-serving health entities to build and maintain cancer prevention and support programs, contribute to Native Nations’ capacity to provide local cancer patient navigation, and improve researchers’ dissemination about the current evidence regarding cancer prevention, education and treatment for Native people. OEC’s objectives are to: a) enhance Native Nations’ health department expertise in cancer prevention education and patient navigation through training, peer-program mentoring, and program development, and b) increase access to and application of information generated by NACP-funded research projects, as well as state and national resources.

• Enhance Arizona’s American Indian/Alaska Native cancer patient navigation capacity through training and mentorship of community partners across the cancer care continuum.  

• Facilitate a national American Indian/Alaska Native cancer network to build programmatic knowledge, funding, and infrastructure for Arizona.

• Mentor and guide NACP research teams in effective community-based dissemination and application of research activities through enhanced training. 

To accomplish these aims, the OEC leadership and staff collaborate with the other NACP Cores, especially the Research Education Core and the GUIDeS Shared Resource. 

Outreach Publications 

(https://in.nau.edu/nacp/nacp-outreach-publications-library/)

Contact us to schedule an event or an educational Session via phone (928-523-4292) or request a presentation online.

About the NACP Outreach and Engagement Core (OEC) Toolkit

The Partnership for Native American Cancer Prevention (NACP) Outreach and Engagement Core’s (OEC) activities bridge the gap between research and actionable steps to improve community health. Our long-term goal is to strengthen Arizona Native Nations’ capacity to engage in cancer control programming. We conduct community-based education and support communities’ cancer-related needs while connecting them to resources to help address those needs.  

This living digital toolkit is a centralized hub for resources and community capacity building. The intention is to provide resources for students, investigators, healthcare professionals, community health representatives (CHRs), patient navigators, tribal health departments/entities, and others with a commitment to reducing cancer disparities among Native Americans. 

Core Resources

Our toolkit contains resources mapped directly to the strategic aims of the OEC:

• Aim 1: Enhance AZ Native Nations’ cancer patient navigation capacity through CHR training and mentorship across the cancer care continuum.

• • An Environmental Scan for CHR Programs and Tribal Clinics in Arizona (PDF  file link): The Environmental Scan is a report that brings together peer-reviewed and gray literature about the engagement of CHRs as cancer navigators serving Native American patients across the cancer care continuum. The scan may help program planners identify potential resources and challenges by providing evidence about cancer navigation program planning with a CHR workforce. 
  • CHR Training Toolkit (PDF file link): This resource provides structured training, mentorship, and guidance for Native Nations and Native-serving institutions that plan to use the George Washington University (GWU) Oncology Patient Navigation Training Certification (GWU Patient Navigator Training) for employee training.

• Aim 2: Facilitate a national Intertribal cancer network to build programmatic knowledge, funding, and infrastructure for AZ’s tribal cancer related activities.

• • Resource: To come.

• Aim 3: Mentor and guide NACP research teams in effective community-based dissemination and applications of research activities through enhanced training. 

• • Directory for Reaching Relatives Using Media (DRRUM) (PDF file link): This dynamic resource was compiled to support researchers’ efforts to share the intention, process, and outcomes of their work DRRUM provides contact information for newsletters/newspapers, radio stations, and community organizations that serve Native people in Arizona and northern New Mexico. 

Future Development

This toolkit is an evolving repository. The OEC will add new resources, update contact information, provide links to training modules, and program development tools to enhance cancer research, workforce development, and cancer education.

CHR Training Toolkit 

Section 1. Recommendations from Past Experiences

Section 2. Tip Sheet 

Section 3. Draft Agenda 

Section 4. Recommended Group Activities

Section 5. GW Patient Navigator Guide (All Lessons)

Section 6. GW Cancer Center Patient Navigator Resources

Cancer Education Services

The Community Outreach Program collaborates with Tribal Community’s and schools to help educate families, students, and key staff members. Services include:

Cancer education

• Sessions requested by a community member on a specific Cancer topic. We provide screening guidelines, nutritional cancer prevention facts, risk factors, symptoms, diagnosis, treatments, supportive care and sources of Support.