R. L. Hoffman1, K. O’Neill2, J. Olsen1, S. R. Allen1, M. K. Lee1, C. B. Aarons1, R. R. Kelz1 2Yale University School Of Medicine,New Haven, CT, USA 1Hospital Of The University Of Pennsylvania,Philadelphia, PA, USA
Introduction: Community outreach is a powerful tool for improving public knowledge of issues related to cancer care and decreasing disparities. Surgery is the only curative treatment of many types of cancer, therefore we developed a community outreach program to increase surgeon presence within the community.
Methods: In partnership with a large urban university cancer center, the Agnew society surgical interest group organized two community health outreach events focused on cancer prevention, screening and treatment in the surrounding community. Volunteers included medical students, surgical residents and faculty. The event consisted of free time for networking and engagement with participants. A survey instrument was used to gauge participant beliefs about cancer topics prior to the educational portion. The main event consisted of a presentation on colon cancer, followed by survivor and caregiver testimony and a question and answer session. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze survey results and to compare the demographics of the university to the community participants.
Results: Faculty are 69% male, 77% White, 3.5% African American and 14% Asian. Twenty-two surgical volunteers participated in the events and 2 of 6 faculty member panelists were African American. A total of 265 community members attended. Participants were 20% male and 96% African American. The survey response rate was 71% (188/256). Thirty-two percent endorsed mistrust in what doctors told them, 22% found it difficult to talk to doctors, and 25% felt that surgical treatment caused cancer to spread. After the first event, all medical professionals voluntarily continued participation in the second event and committed to future participation.
Conclusion: There was a clear difference between the demographic profiles of the university staff and the community that they served. Negative perceptions of physicians and the role of surgery in cancer treatment were prevalent within the community. Surgeon interest in community outreach is largely underappreciated. Surgeon engagement in community outreach can be easily expanded to other urban centers and may provide an opportunity to reduce surgical disparities.