Ensuring Cancer Care Equity for North Baton Rouge
Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center (MBPCC) is the state’s leading community cancer care organization, serving patients throughout the Gulf South. To overcome health system, provider and patient-focused barriers, MBPCC is working with Baton Rouge General and Woman’s Hospital as well as a Community Advisory Board to address social determinants or drivers of health (SDOH) to implement a comprehensive navigation system informed by patient needs. In addition, MBPCC is ensuring the delivery of culturally sensitive care and patient access to supportive services throughout the continuum of care.
MBPCC is addressing care for medically underserved adult cancer patients of North Baton Rouge. This population is predominantly African American/Black (77%) and are significantly affected by SDOH, resulting in fragmented care experience. Many patients face one or more of the following barriers to care, contributing to a higher overall cancer burden among this population:
- Insufficient insurance coverage or are uninsured
- Unreliable methods of transportation to care services
- Minimal levels of education attainment
Three multilevel intervention strategies are in place to improve the delivery of culturally competent, patient-centered cancer care. Strategies include:
Care Coordination and Integration
- Promote patient navigation services
- Address SDOH through referrals
- Educate patient on risk factors and screening guidelines
Patient-Centered Communication and Engagement
- Provide communication skills training
- Conduct implicit bias/unconscious bias training
- Utilize patient tools and decision aids for navigating cancer care
Supportive and Palliative Care
- Implement tools to assess and manage emotional and spiritual needs, patient symptoms and side effects
- Provide patient and family education
As an essential link between the community and MBPCC, the Community Advisory Board works to:
- Leverage collective expertise, resources and wisdom to advance equity in cancer care
- Expand awareness of the SDOH impacting cancer care to underrepresented populations
- Provide strategic guidance in the development, feasibility and implementation of interventions, tools and decision aids for navigating cancer care
- Foster opportunities for ongoing community engagement and outreach
| Organization/Affiliation | Organization/Affiliation |
|---|---|
| The La Capitale (LA) Chapter of The Links, Inc. | National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc.-- Metropolitan Baton Rouge |
| Metro Council 2 - Jewel J. Newman Community Center | Metro Health |
| Southern University Law Center’s Vulnerable Communities & People's Initiative | Southern University Agricultural Research and Extension Center |
| Geaux Ride | Southern University School of Nursing |
| 100 Black Men Metropolitan Baton Rouge, Ltd. | Open Health Care Clinic |
| Cancer Survivors/Caregivers | Huey and Angelina Wilson Foundation |
| Cancer Services | Healthy Blue |
| HealthyBR | Woman’s Hospital |
MBPCC measures the program’s effectiveness using key metrics across five focus areas: reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation and maintenance. In addition to MBPCC’s evaluation efforts, the NPO will plan and implement a comprehensive cross-site program evaluation using core data elements, harmonized metrics and overall collected data. This will be used to inform future efforts and measure the impact of the initiative across grantee sites while identifying and promoting best practices.
Program Co-Directors
Angela Hammett, MSN, RNC-OB, LCCE
Director of Navigation & Support Services
Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center
ahammett@marybird.com
Nicole J. Honoré
Director of Equity in Cancer Care,
Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center
nhonore@marybird.com