GW Cancer Institute Receives $97K Grant to Address Barriers to Cancer Care

WASHINGTON (Jan. 28, 2015) — The George Washington University (GW) Cancer Institute received a $97K grant from Genentech to address health disparities in cancer care.

“We are honored to be selected by Genentech to carry out this important research,” said Mandi Pratt-Chapman, MA, director of the GW Cancer Institute. “Our research will provide critical information for the sustainability of patient navigation, an intervention that has rapidly gained traction to reduce cancer health disparities.”

With this grant, the GW Cancer Institute will launch a yearlong study to:

• Gather key information about barriers encountered, program impact and program value;
• Create evaluation tools to support sustainability of patient navigation at the community level;
• And translate research findings for a practice-based audience.

Patient navigation has emerged as an effective intervention to reduce barriers to cancer care, particularly for underserved populations. With extensive research on the standardization and growth of this field, as well as implementation of training for patient navigators, the GW Cancer Institute is especially suited to conduct this study.

While barriers to care exist across the health care system, they are particularly pronounced in oncology. Treatments are expensive, significantly impact quality of life, and require coordination across multiple providers. This leads to challenges related to accessing screening, early detection, treatment and post-treatment care.

In addition to Pratt-Chapman, Anne Willis, MA, director of patient-centered programs, and Adrienne Thomas, LGCSW, project manager for community outreach and patient navigation, both at the GW Cancer Institute, will contribute to this research.

###

About the GW Cancer Institute:
The GW Cancer Institute, housed within the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences, integrates and coordinates a broad spectrum of cancer-related activities across the GW campus and among its affiliated partners. The vision of the GW Cancer Institute is to set the standard for patient-centered care and eliminate cancer health disparities. The mission of the GW Cancer Institute is to ensure access to quality, patient-centered care across the cancer continuum through community engagement, patient and family empowerment, health care professional education, policy advocacy, and collaborative multi-disciplinary research. smhs.gwu.edu/gwci/