Community health worker support to improve palliative and end-of-life care for African American adults with advanced cancer
Dissemination and Implementation of a Community Health Worker Intervention for Disparities in Palliative Care (DeCIDE-PC)
This project offers trained community health workers to help African American adults with advanced cancer access palliative and end-of-life care that matches their values and needs.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Wake Forest University Health Sciences NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Winston-Salem, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11160434 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
You would work with a community health worker—someone from your community trained to help patients—who joins the medical team to provide education, connect you to hospice and support services, help with advance care planning, and address cultural or practical barriers to palliative care. The team will adapt and spread this approach in clinic and community settings so more people can get these services. CHWs will do outreach, help families navigate care options, and collect information about what approaches reduce disparities. The project focuses on lowering the specific barriers African American patients face when accessing palliative care.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal participants are African American adults living with advanced or metastatic cancer who are receiving care at participating clinics and who want help navigating palliative, hospice, or supportive services.
Not a fit: People without advanced cancer, those not receiving care at participating sites, or those who do not want outreach from a community health worker are unlikely to benefit from this project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could increase access to symptom relief, improve quality of life, and make end-of-life care more consistent with patients' wishes for African American people with advanced cancer.
How similar studies have performed: Community health worker programs have improved access and outcomes for chronic illnesses and there is growing evidence they can improve palliative and supportive care, though broad implementation for end-of-life disparities is still emerging.
Where this research is happening
Winston-Salem, United States
- Wake Forest University Health Sciences — Winston-Salem, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Johnston, Fabian M — Wake Forest University Health Sciences
- Study coordinator: Johnston, Fabian M
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.