The College of Nursing at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center is taking cancer screening to urban and rural communities, thanks to two mobile health units donated by the West Cancer Center and Research Institute and grant funding from regional and national organizations.
Nursing faculty and students will use one of the vans to go into underserved neighborhoods in Shelby County. This cancer screening program is funded by a 12-month, $108,215 grant from The McKesson Foundation, a corporate foundation dedicated to Advancing Health Outcomes for All®. The grant supports the College of Nursing Cancer Prevention Project with the purpose of increasing access to cancer screenings for vulnerable communities.
Cancer is the second leading cause of death in Shelby County, and the grant team plans to do outreach in ZIP codes where health disparities mean residents have a higher risk of mortality from colorectal or breast cancer. The grant funded by The McKesson Foundation is expected to serve 1,000 people.
The rural cancer screening program will use a second van to go into Hardeman, Haywood, and Lauderdale counties to provide health education, cancer screening evaluations, and home colorectal or prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test kits over the next year. This program is funded through a 12-month, $168,475 sub-award from the Tennessee Center for Nursing Advancement, an organization based in Johnson City that was established to address the nursing workforce shortage in Tennessee and the Appalachian Highlands region.
“We appreciate the generous donation by the West Cancer Center and Research Institute and are thrilled to use these vans to take cancer education and screening into the community,” said College of Nursing Dean Wendy Likes, PhD, DNSc, APRN-BC, FAAN, FAANP. “We are also sincerely grateful for the support of The McKesson Foundation and the Tennessee Center for Nursing Advancement, whose donations will support the oversight and coordination of these outreach efforts.” Dr. Likes is principal investigator on the grant from the Tennessee Center for Nursing Advancement.
Associate Professor Ricketta Clark, DNP, APRN-BC, is the principal investigator on the Shelby County project, the grant funded by the McKesson Foundation. “My goal for this project is to reduce barriers to cancer screening for underserved populations in Memphis by delivering care directly into high-disparity communities,” Dr. Clark said. “Through consistent, community-based outreach, this initiative will expand access to colorectal, breast, and prostate cancer screening while strengthening follow-up and connections to care for individuals who might otherwise remain unscreened. The intended impact is earlier detection and a measurable reduction in cancer-related morbidity and mortality across Shelby County.”
The goal of both outreach programs is to provide cancer education, screening, tools, and handouts at least once a week at community events and health fairs. Nursing students and faculty will distribute information on breast cancer, prostate cancer, and colorectal cancer, as well as screening questionnaires. Those who meet screening criteria will receive home test kits for colorectal or prostate cancer and will be given instructions on how to complete the kit and mail it to the laboratory for analysis. Each participant who receives a kit will also provide contact information so the health outreach teams can follow up. If a participant’s test result is positive, the provider will follow up with the patient to connect the individual with appropriate health services.
The Shelby County outreach program will involve nursing students from only UT Health Sciences. The rural program will include nursing students from UT Health Sciences as well as Baptist Health Sciences University, Christian Brothers University, and Southwest Tennessee Community College.