Establishing diversity, equity, inclusion and justice task forces for District of Columbia area cancer centers: Lessons learned implementing efforts in oncology
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: PURPOSE: To address observed cancer health inequities resulting from historically-embedded structural bias in quality, equity, and access to health care delivery, we organized and coordinated Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice (DEIJ) Task Forces across three cancer centers in the Mid-Atlantic region. METHODS: We recruited multi-disciplinary, diverse faculty and staff for each task force to optimize capacity to implement sustainable, effective strategies for institutional change. We developed an educational curriculum aligned with enhanced National Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) Standards and the DC Hospital Health Equity Framework. Over 18 months, task force members were invited to 14 sessions designed to help teams assess and prioritize critical areas for improvement through organizational assessments and then create and implement action plans. RESULTS: Task force goals focused on reducing cancer disparities by improving patient information accessibility, expanding the reach of implicit bias training for providers, and improving accurate socio-demographic data collection. The task forces made meaningful progress on two of these three goals. Challenges included competing time demands, incomplete and limited data generated by institutions, limited insight into operational protocols and inadequate resources and time to complete work. CONCLUSION: Clear, accessible patient-reported demographic data, protected staff time, leadership commitment, and significant institutional resource supports are critical to effectively advance DEIJ work.
Source: PLoS ONE
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,382
Awards: COLLABORATIVELY ACHIEVING HEALTH EQUITY: CAPACITY BUILDING TO ADVANCE CANCER CONTROL SYSTEMS-LEVEL CHANGE - COMPREHENSIVE CANCER CONTROL (CCC) BRINGS TOGETHER MULTI-SECTORAL PARTNERS TO COLLECTIVELY ADDRESS CANCER BURDEN BY LEVERAGING RESOURCES TO IMPLEMENT EVIDENCE-BASED INTERVENTIONS (EBI) ACROSS THE CANCER CONTINUUM. APPLYING FOR COMPONENT A OF CDC-RFA-DP-23-0017: PROVISION OF TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO ENHANCE COMPREHENSIVE CANCER CONTROL OUTCOMES, THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY CANCER CENTER (GWCC) SEEKS TO BUILD UPON ITS DEMONSTRATED TRACK RECORD AS A TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE (TTA) PROVIDER. SINCE 2013, GWCC HAS REACHED 7,774 LEARNERS THROUGH 10 ENDURING ONLINE TRAININGS, GAINED 3,453 ACTIVE NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIBERS, ENGAGED 81 TTA STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBERS AND DEVELOPED 74 UNIQUE HEALTH AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS, AND AUTHORED OVER 80 GWCC RESOURCES THAT CONTINUE TO BE ACTIVELY MAINTAINED AND PROMOTED. THIS PROPOSAL BUILDS ON EXISTING DISSEMINATION CHANNELS, PARTNERSHIPS AND TTA PRODUCTS TO ENHANCE CAPACITY OF CDC-FUNDED CCC PROGRAMS AND COALITIONS TO ADDRESS THE HEALTH EQUITY THROUGH POLICY, SYSTEM, AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE. GWCC’S APPROACH CENTERS NCCCP RECIPIENT NEEDS WITH INPUT FROM NATIONAL COLLABORATORS. LEVERAGING EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE, GWCC WILL FACILITATE MULTIMODAL AND INTERACTIVE PEER-TO-PEER LEARNING THROUGH DIVERSE CHANNELS TO ACHIEVE THE FOLLOWING OUTCOMES: REDUCED DUPLICATION OF EFFORTS; IMPROVED USE OF RESOURCES; ENHANCED REACH OF TTA; DELIVERY OF HIGH-QUALITY TTA; PROMOTION OF CCC SUCCESSES; AND INCREASED IMPLEMENTATION OF EBIS AND PSE STRATEGIES BY CCC PROGRAMS AND COALITIONS. THESE ACTIVITIES WILL INCREASE CAPACITY AND IMPACT OF CCC PROGRAMS AND COALITIONS, LEADING TO REDUCED CANCER DISPARITIES. SPECIFIC STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES INCLUDE: STRATEGY A1: DEVELOP TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PLAN - RESTRUCTURE GWCC’S TTA STEERING COMMITTEE IN COLLABORATION WITH TTA PROVIDERS TO IDENTIFY NCCCP RECIPIENT NEEDS AND OPTIMIZE RESOURCE INVENTORIES ON THE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PORTAL (TAP) AND THE CCCNP WEBSITES, BOTH MANAGED BY GWCC. STRATEGY A2: IMPLEMENT TTA PLAN THROUGH PARTNERSHIPS AND/OR PARTNERSHIP NETWORKS. - MAINTAIN STRONG ENGAGEMENT IN CCCNP AND WITH NATIONAL NETWORKS TO COLLECTIVELY ADVANCE CCC WITH OTHER TTA PROVIDERS. STRATEGY A3: DELIVER MULTIMODAL TTA TO FACILITATE NCCCP RECIPIENT INFORMATION SHARING - MAINTAIN EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION CHANNELS TO DISSEMINATE TTA TO NCCCP RECIPIENT AND COALITIONS INCLUDING HIGHLY UTILIZED MONTHLY SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGNS AND NEWSLETTERS - INCREASE USE OF PSE CHANGE APPROACHES AND ACCELERATE EBI IMPLEMENTATION AMONG NCCCP RECIPIENTS THROUGH TWO COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE THAT LEVERAGE GWCC PSE AND IMPLEMENTATION SCIENCE TRAININGS TO SUPPORT PEER-TO-PEER LEARNING. - BUILD CAPACITY TO ADVANCE NCCCP PRIORITIES BY MAINTAINING, PROMOTING AND OPTIMIZING THE EXISTING GWCC ONLINE ACADEMY WHICH INCLUDES 10 ASYNCHRONOUS DIDACTIC TRAININGS TO INCREASE KNOWLEDGE AND CONFIDENCE AMONG NCCCP RECIPIENTS AND COALITION MEMBERS. - IMPROVE CCC COALITION FUNCTIONING AND EFFECTIVENESS BY ENHANCING AND BUILDING UPON A VARIETY OF EXISTING USER-TESTED RESOURCES INCLUDING THE COMP CANCER 101 WIKI, TAILORED RESOURCE REMINDERS AND VISUAL MENUS, AND REPRESENTATION AND ENGAGEMENT TOOLS TO HELP NCCCP RECIPIENTS ASSESS AND IMPROVE THEIR COALITIONS’ DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION PRACTICES STRATEGY A4: MONITOR AND EVALUATE TTA EFFORTS AND DISSEMINATE FINDINGS - CONTINUE TO DISSEMINATE PUBLIC-FACING ANNUAL REPORTS DETAILING IMPACT OF TTA., G1773452051, G3367918087, G629921037
OpenAlex ID: W7128721931