The goal of community outreach and engagement efforts at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center is to reduce the burden of cancer in western Pennsylvania and beyond.
What we do
UPMC Hillman Cancer Center’s Office of Community Outreach and Engagement (COE) carries out various efforts to support this goal.
Our outreach program provides community groups with knowledgeable speakers, written materials, and interactive tools that address cancer prevention, treatment, and survivorship. Examples of topics covered include lifestyle changes that decrease the risk of cancer and its recurrence and recommended screening guidelines.
We also strive to educate the community on the advances that UPMC Hillman is making in basic, clinical, and population science research. These efforts range from providing evidence-based data on environmental exposures and cancer risk to fostering interest in clinical trial participation.
Through these important interactions, we solicit feedback on unmet cancer-related needs in our surrounding area, including those specific to medically underserved populations. We then communicate these needs back to UPMC Hillman leadership and investigators, the UPMC Office of Government Relations, and Pennsylvania Cancer Coalition.
UPMC Hillman Cancer Center’s Office of Community Outreach and Engagement works to reduce cancer health disparities by:
- Collaborating with organizations that focus on medically underserved populations to build trust.
- Identifying and removing barriers to care.
- Navigating individuals to cancer screening and treatment.
To inform, apply, and enhance UPMC Hillman cancer research, our advocacy efforts aim to:
- Identify and address nonscientific concerns and barriers to research.
- Identify common and population-specific priorities.
- Increase community relevance of planned research projects.
- Increase representation in clinical trials and behavioral studies.
