CCBR: About

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The mission of the Center for Community-Based Research is to conduct research that promotes the reduction of cancer risk and social disparities in cancer risk.

The center’s research aims to:

promote behaviors that reduce cancer risk (e.g., tobacco cessation, fruit and vegetable consumption, physical activity, adherence to recommended screening tests)
reduce potential exposures that increase cancer risk (e.g., to sun, secondhand smoke, occupational carcinogens)
modify social policies to reduce cancer risk
increase access to and comprehension of cancer risk information

The Center for Community-Based Research’s mission is accomplished with community partnerships and collaborations through the following research:

Intervention research

This research aims to develop and test the effectiveness of behavioral and communication interventions to lower cancer risk. Studies are primarily randomized controlled trials that test the effectiveness of interventions for individuals, worksites, labor unions, health care facilities, and other organizations. These studies assess change in risk-related behaviors, reductions in potential exposures that increase cancer risk, and use of screening for early detection.

Health communication research

This research examines the role of communication in cancer prevention, detection, treatment and survivorship through mass media, health care providers, and the use of new technologies such as the Internet. The center is interested in how different audiences, such as the general public, patients, and cancer survivors learn about cancer, understand cancer risk information and use information in cancer prevention, treatment and survivorship decisions. This research enhances our understanding of the context in which cancer decisions are made and thereby facilitates the development of strategies for utilizing a social-contextual approach to improve health communication.

Research on the social context of cancer risk

This research focuses on several aspects of social context that influence cancer risk including social norms, cultural milieu, neighborhood setting, and work and policy environments. These studies inform the development of interventions to reduce cancer risk.

Disparities research

Epidemiologic research indicates that risk of cancer is not evenly distributed in the population. Rather, risk is highest among lower socioeconomic class groups, those with lower levels of education, workers in lower-status jobs (non-managerial, non-supervisory), and among some racial/ethnic groups. For this reason, the center focuses particularly on research in these populations - aiming, for example, to understand the social context of risk among those with low incomes, testing health communications for diverse cultural groups, and evaluating the effectiveness of interventions in collaboration with worksites, labor unions, and health centers.

Research Dissemination and Knowledge Transfer

The center is involved in studying how knowledge learned from scientific discoveries in the lab, the clinic and the community could be translated into strategies to reduce the gap between research discovery and delivery of programs. The focus is in promoting the adoption of evidence-based cancer control strategies by clinics and community groups involved in cancer prevention, detection, treatment and survivorship/end of life care. The center is particularly interested in bridging the gap in translation between the "bench" and the "trench" among the medically underserved through knowledge syntheses, community partnerships, and research collaborations.