Using community health workers to improve palliative care for African American adults with advanced cancer
Official title: I TITRATE PC: An Implementation based Community Health Worker Intervention to address Disparities in Palliative Care
Funded at Wake Forest University Health Sciences · NIH-11318877 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This program pairs culturally trained community health workers with palliative care teams to help African American adults with advanced cancer get better information, support, and access to end-of-life care options.
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 start | July 20, 2022 |
| Project end | November 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $584,422 |
| NIH project number | 5R01MD016935-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11318877 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are African American adults living with advanced cancer who receive care at participating clinics and who could benefit from extra support with palliative or end-of-life planning.
✕Less likely to help
People without advanced cancer, those already fully engaged with palliative services, or patients not served by the participating clinics are unlikely to be eligible or to benefit directly.
What this research studies
You would be connected with a community health worker (CHW) who joins your palliative care team to provide culturally sensitive education, help with advance care planning, and navigate services like hospice. CHWs will work to address barriers such as mistrust, lack of information, family concerns, and economic challenges that can make it harder to get palliative care. The team will track whether adding CHWs helps more people get goal-concordant care, improves symptom control, and increases use of palliative or hospice services. The approach builds on proven CHW roles in other illnesses but adapts them specifically to meet the needs of African American patients with advanced cancer.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the program could increase use of palliative and hospice services, reduce symptom burden, and help care better match patients' cultural values and wishes.
How similar studies have gone: Community health worker programs have improved access and outcomes in HIV, tuberculosis, and some cancer care settings, though applying CHWs specifically to reduce palliative care disparities is less common.
Where this research is happening
-
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
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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UNCOVER-PC: Helping people with advanced cancer and their families get better palliative care
A project at Emory aims to find the best ways to give palliative care early to people with advanced cancer and to understand how it helps patients and their caregivers.
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Digitally supported community workers helping HPB cancer patients receive early palliative care
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ICUconnect 2: helping older ICU patients and families get better palliative care
A multi-site study will test a mobile app that helps ICU teams deliver personalized palliative care to older adults and support families.
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Caring for Older African Americans: Training Clinicians to Provide Quality End-of-Life Care
This grant aims to adapt and deliver a training program for clinicians so they can better understand and meet end-of-life care needs of older African American adults in both the South and North.
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Support-T: a mobile tool to help people with progressive pulmonary fibrosis and their caregivers get palliative care and planning
A mobile app called SUPPORT-T helps people with progressive pulmonary fibrosis and their caregivers access palliative care and plan for the future.
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Palliative care support for patients getting CAR T therapy for blood cancers
A clinician-led program designed to improve quality of life and ease the burden on patients and caregivers during and after CAR T cell therapy for blood cancers.
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.