2024 COE Outreach Impact

Community outreach and education activities provided by the Office of Community Outreach and Engagement

Office of Community Outreach and Engagement

Who we are | The Office of Community Outreach and Engagement (COE) works to uphold Moffitt’s commitment to maximize the impact of its research through engagement and equity in the cancer center’s catchment area and beyond. COE works to people at the forefront of our research and ensure that our work is informed by ongoing and bidirectional exchange of information and ideas between our researchers and community stakeholders.

COEE strives to support Moffitt’s impact in the catchment area through strategic aims:

  • Assess, prioritize, and monitor catchment area needs across the cancer continuum.
  • Catalyze innovative research and clinical trials responsive to catchment area priorities.
  • Accelerate the adoption of evidence-based practices to address catchment area priorities through outreach, education, and policy.

Preventative Care

Listen to what Associate Center Director, Susan T. Vadaparampil, PhD, MPH has to say about preventative cancer care, and the role COE plays in prevention efforts.


Moffitt Cancer Center Catchment Area

Moffitt’s current catchment area includes 23 counties spanning West Central Florida

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) defines a cancer center's catchment area as the specific geographic area from which the center draws a significant portion of its patients and where it aims to address the cancer burden.

NCI-designated cancer centers, like Moffitt, are required to focus on the unique cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and control needs of their catchment area population. This involves conducting research and implementing outreach and intervention programs to reduce cancer disparities and improve cancer outcomes within that region.

In 2021, Moffitt leadership expanded our 15 county catchment area to 23 counties. You can read more about it  here .

We're about to have a new location!

Construction is currently underway at the  Moffitt South Shore  location.

Moffitt - Ruskin - Site Visit 06/25/2024

The map to the left shows drive times going to the Moffitt South Shore location. If you click on the areas, you can see demographic information for people living within 2, 5, and 10 minutes of the South Shore location.

Insight: The Diversity Index is highest the closer you are to the South Shore location.

(left to right) Jeannette Palencia - Sr. Community Health Educator; Kenisha Avery COE Manager; Dr. Susan Vadaparampil PhD Associate Center Director for Outreach; Topher Larkin Community Outreach Specialist

South Shore Town Hall

Moffitt Cancer Center Priority Populations

As part of the directive by the National Cancer Institute, cancer centers must identify populations in their catchment area that have rates of population or health concerns that exceed the state and/or nation.

In our 23 county area, our priority populations are:

  • Non-Hispanic Black/African Americans
  • Hispanic/Latinx
  • Spanish-speaking populations
  • Age 65+
  • LGBTQ+
  • Rural populations

The interactive map to the left shows you which areas, at the census tract level, have populations that are predominantly White, Black, or Hispanic.

Moffitt Cancer Center | Catchment Area Populations


Using Data to Inform Outreach Strategy

2023 Outreach Planning Image: Blue counties = no outreach to date in 2023; Distances represent 50 miles from home base, which is max travel distance for Hillsborough-based outreach team members

We use data to inform where we should focus our outreach over our 23-county catchment area, looking at where COE has not provided health education, where our priority populations are and what areas experience high cancer burden.

In 2023, our outreach, data, and leadership teams met to review the events from 2023 to see where we've been and where we need to reach. Those discussions led to prioritizing collaboration with our community cancer screening teams, identifying counties to prioritize for 2024, fostering relationships with partners we haven't collaborated with in the past, and expanding our outreach team to reach into geographically distant counties.

We looked both at populations and cancers in our planning session, looking at sub-county level (smaller areas than county) cancer metrics for all of our priority cancers and identified counties in our catchment area with greatest burden in terms of incidence and mortality.

Breast cancer | Cervical cancer | Colorectal cancer | Lung cancer | Melanoma of the skin | Head and Neck cancers | Prostate cancer

2023 Outreach Planning Image: Skin cancer burden, identifying counties most affected by incidence and mortality

COE team members and volunteers at the Wimauma Health Expo May 2024 - Beth-El Farmworker Ministry, Inc.

2024 Outreach Impact

Our community outreach team provides tailored health education in English and Spanish for a variety of cancer topics, including:

  • Clinical trials
  • Cancer prevention
  • Healthy eating and healthy lifestyles
  • Cancer research
  • Cancer survivorship


2024 events by month of the year

We completed 160 events in 2024, reaching over 9,500 people - that's an average of 13 events and reaching an average of 795 people per month. The most events and highest attendance occurred in November (13.75% of all events).


Cancer sites requested for health education

It was common for community outreach teams to provide cancer health education for multiple cancer sites at events, such as health fairs. The cancer site most requested by community partners was breast cancer.


Digital Outreach

Podcasts

We want to get the word out about cancer health disparities in Black and Brown communities, so we made a podcast brought to you by cancer researchers and physician of color. Join hosts  Dr. Brandon Blue  and  Dra. Sarimar Agosto Salgado  as we explore the work of Moffitt faculty who are working toward more equitable cancer care - for all.

“This is my community. The people who I treat are my extended family. This is something I believe in. And I'm ready to help.”

Dr. Brandon Blue, MD

 This podcast is brought to you by a generous gift from Dr. Michael VogelBaum and Ms. Judith Rosman by the TOP Jewish foundation. 

COEE Podcast "Cancer in Our Community" (English)

En esta serie especial de podcasts titulado «El cáncer en nuestra comunidad» escucharás a los expertos que estudian los efectos de la biología, la sociedad y la educación con el fin de lograr que la equidad en la salud sea una realidad para toda la comunidad hispana.

El cáncer en nuestra Comunidad (Español)


Outreach in the Community

COE outreach teams go into our communities, providing health education, access to free cancer screenings, and facilitating research partnerships.

Keeping in line with using data to inform our outreach, we document the populations coming to our events so we can be sure we're reaching the groups that will most benefit from our resources. These demographics represent participants from in-person health education workshops (n≈1,121).

Who we're reaching

Health insurance status of event attendees

Most attendees had health insurance. Regardless of health insurance status, if we provided cancer screenings at events, they were free for everyone.

Race/Ethnicity of event attendees

Over half of our event attendees were Hispanic. Hispanic and Spanish-speaking populations are one of our priority populations.

Gender identities of event attendees

Women made up over half of our event attendees. Breast cancer education was one of the highest requested education topics, and it is a priority cancer. Gender identities were self-described.

Age groups of event attendees

People age 65+ were the highest age group in attendance for our events. This age group is one of our priority populations.


Health Education Impact

After a health education workshop, where we provide tailored health education to the community, we ask our participants about how they perceive their knowledge increasing as a result of the education they received. Here is what they say (n≈715):

82.07% Agree: Because of what I learned today, I am interested in getting the recommended screenings for cancer.

88.21% Agree: Because of what I learned today, I feel empowered to share this information with family or friends.

85.42% believe that the health education was easy to understand.

83.78% are Likely to attend another educational activity offered by Moffitt Cancer Center. Those who were not likely to attend listed reasons such as transportation, religion being their primary cure, or they have a doctor who gives them information.

85.25% were Likely to to attend another educational activity given by the event speaker


Where we're reaching

Let's take a look at where our outreach teams are based, and where we've provided health education and outreach.

In 2024, COE community outreach teams participated in 160 events, reaching 9,573 people with community outreach including cancer health education and cancer screening services.

Our community outreach team provided outreach in 52% of the counties in our catchment area.

69% of our outreach was in Hillsborough County.

We reached into 3 of our expanded counties, reaching 963 people in those counties.

Outreach in the Catchment Area

We have a total of 11 health educators, and 8 of them joined the COE team in 2024.

Meet our Team!

Green = added this year

Partnership development and LGBTQ+ populations | Topher Larkin

Black and African American, Haitian Creole populations | Latanya Jones and Winnie Cajuste

Hispanic/ Spanish-speaking and Rural Viviana Suarez and Jeannette Palencia

Clinical trials education | Viviam Sifontes

Tobacco Treatment Specialist | Sue Ulsheimer-Seney

Tampa Bay/Orlando-based health educators also go into surrounding counties, including Pinellas, Pasco, Polk, Orange, Hardee, Manatee, and Sarasota.

We also have 4 health educators based in different parts of the catchment area so we can reach more people. These team members are also part of the Non-Therapeutic Research Office (NTRO) because they provide health education for grants managed by research faculty.

Community Partners

We partnered with 119 different community organizations in 2024.

Types of partnering organizations

31% of the partnering organizations were social services, including non-profits, services for elderly, and community resource centers.

60% of the organizations were returning, meaning we partnered with them at some time in the past.

33% of the organizations were new partners we hadn't collaborated with before.

Event Topics and Languages

63% of health education topics were cancer prevention and awareness. Clinical trials and healthy lifestyles were the next most common topics

Event Topics

Community outreach teams provided health education in Spanish and French Creole at 58.76% of events, and bilingually where health educators provided health education in 2 different languages.

Outreach in the Catchment Area

The majority of our outreach occurred in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Polk, and Orange counties, which are also counties with moderately high rates of overall cancer incidence and/or cancer mortality.

Cancer burden by gender and race/ethnicity

The counties below are both counties we did outreach in and they have populations that experience cancer burdens greater than other counties:

Cancer data source: State Cancer Profiles: Age-adjusted, 2016-2020

Outreach in the Catchment Area

Breast Cancer Outreach

We participated in 21 events focused on breast cancer, reaching 937 people in Spanish (57.14%) and English (42.86%) in 4 counties: Hillsborough, Osceola, Lee, and Pinellas. 47.62% of the partnering organizations were new.

Social Service organizations (47.62%) partnered with us the most with breast cancer events.

Outreach in the Catchment Area

Colorectal Cancer Outreach

We participated in 6 events focused on colorectal cancer, reaching 154 people in Spanish (50%), English (33.33%), and bilingually (16.67%) in 2 counties: Hillsborough and Citrus. 33.33% of the partnering organizations were new.

Government organizations (50%) partnered with us the most with colorectal cancer events, 16.67% were with civil organizations including fraternities and sororities.

Outreach in the Catchment Area

Lung Cancer Outreach

We participated in 4 events focused on lung cancer, reaching 582 people in English (100%) in 1 county: Hillsborough. 25% of the partnering organizations were new.

We had a different type of partner for each of the lung cancer events: civil organization, faith-based, government, and one sponsored by Moffitt Cancer Center.

Outreach in the Catchment Area

Cervical Cancer Outreach

We participated in 4 events focused on cervical cancer, reaching 46 people in Spanish (75%) and English (25%) in 2 counties: Hillsborough and Polk. All of the partnering organizations had worked with us in the past.

Social Service organizations (75%) partnered with us the most with cervical cancer events.

Outreach in the Catchment Area

Prostate Cancer Outreach

We participated in 7 events focused on prostate cancer, reaching 276 people in Spanish (75%) and English (25%) in 3 counties: Hillsborough, Polk, and Sumter. Most of the partnering organizations were new (57.14%).

Healthcare organizations (42.86%) partnered with us the most with prostate cancer events.

Outreach in the Catchment Area

Skin Cancer Outreach

We participated in 5 events focused on skin cancer (melanoma), reaching 67 people in Spanish (100%) in 2 counties: Osceola and Polk. Most of the partnering organizations were returning (80%). One event was virtual.

Healthcare organizations (40%) partnered with us the most with skin cancer events.

Event Highlights: Reaching Priority Populations

We chose 4 events to highlight, and they are all targeted toward the populations identified as  priority populations  in our catchment area. Scroll through this tour to see where hosted these events and what we provided to the community.

These maps are interactive. You can click the points and the rural/urban layer to see more information.

Health & Wellness Day @ United Methodist of Sun City Center

Priority population: Age 65+

On April 13, 2024, faith-based organization United Methodist Church of Sun City Center hosted the "Health & Wellness Day @ United Methodist of Sun City Center".

Jeannette Palencia, Sr. Community Outreach Worker

The event was conducted in English and topics covered included healthy lifestyles and cancer prevention and awareness, with a focus on several cancer types: breast, colorectal, head and neck, lung, and skin.

Moffitt Cancer Center provided a subject matter expert presentation by Dr. Martin Extermann on the topic "Cancer Screening and Prevention: Is there an upper age limit?" along with participation in a health fair and free cancer screenings.

47 individuals underwent head and neck screenings, resulting in 8 suspicious findings.

A total of 175 attendees participated.

Ladies Night in the Community

Priority population: Black/African American

On October 29, 2024, the CDC of Tampa hosted "Ladies Night in the Community". The topics covered included cancer prevention and awareness, as well as survivorship, with a focus on breast cancer.

Ladies Night, CDC of Tampa

A total of 65 attendees participated in the event. 20 women received free breast cancer screening.

Empowering Underserved Communities for Better Health

Priority population: LGBTQ+

In recognition of Pride Month and Juneteenth, on June 6, 2024, the Pinellas County Urban League hosted the "Empowering Underserved Communities for Better Health" event.

Pinellas County Urban League event

The topics covered included healthy lifestyles and cancer prevention and awareness, with a focus on breast, cervical, colorectal, head and neck, lung, prostate, and skin cancers. Dr. Brandon Blue from Moffitt Cancer Center emceed a panel discussing health disparities, including Moffitt VP Chief Quality Officer Dr. Tim Hembree.

A total of 40 attendees participated.

Migrant and Farmworker Health and Wellness Expo

Priority population: Hispanic, Spanish-speaking, Rural

On May 18, 2024, the Moffitt Cancer Center / COE collaborated with faith-based organization Beth-El Farmworker Ministry, Inc., to host the "Migrant and Farmworker Health and Wellness Expo".

Mole Patrol and COEE @ Migrant and Farmworker Health and Wellness Expo

The event was conducted in both English and Spanish

COEE and Mole Patrol @ Migrant and Farmworker Health and Wellness Expo

Our agricultural workers are the most vulnerable population in our community. I consider them to be essential workers. Most of them were visiting the doctor for the first time in their lives at this event.

Viviana Suarez, CCHW - Sr. Community Outreach Worker

The topics covered included healthy lifestyles and cancer prevention and awareness, with a focus on breast, cervical, colorectal, head and neck, lung, prostate, and skin cancers.

Services provided included health education, health fair participation and free cancer screenings.

39 women received breast screenings, 99 people had head and neck screenings, and  Mole Patrol  screened 102 people, finding 19 suspicious lesions.

Summary

When planning for the future, it's helpful to know where you've been and how you've grown. We'll use our impact in 2024 to inform our strategy for 2025.

The slider map below shows you where we did outreach in 2023 vs 2024. You can see we reaching into more counties in 2024, including some geographically distant counties from our home base in Hillsborough County. Blue counties were identified during the 2023 outreach prioritization as counties to focus on.

2023 outreach (slide to right) vs 2024 outreach (slide to left)

Outreach strategization was a success! In 2024, we provided outreach in 6 counties we hadn't been in during 2023.

Outreach Impact Highlights:

  • COE outreach provided health education and other outreach at 160 events in 2024
  • We held at least 3 outreach events for each of the priority populations for our catchment area
  • We reached a higher average of people in 2024 59.83 than in 2023 42.35
  • Outreach teams reached into 6 more counties than in 2023, covering 52% of counties in our catchment area
  • We partnered with almost as many new partners in 2024 33.13% as we did in 2023 37.02%
  • Our team grew, adding 8 new team members!

Partner with us!

Are you in need of cancer health education, cancer screening, or have interest in engaging Moffitt research faculty in community engaged research? Please connect with us! We'd love to work with you.

coee-office@moffitt.org


Tobacco Cessation Assistance

Are you in the Tampa Bay Florida area and are need of tobacco cessation, navigation, or support? You can contact our Tobacco Treatment Specialist at COEE-TOUCH@moffitt.org

¡Sí, hablamos español!


Community-based Cancer Screening

 Mole Patrol  - The Mole Patrol ®  skin cancer screening program travels to venues around Florida to offer free skin cancer screenings and cancer education to the public

 Mobile Lung Screening  - In addition to offering lung screenings at our Moffitt locations we are also introducing the first mobile lung screening unit in Florida equipped with low-dose CT scanning

 Head and Neck Cancer Screening Program  - Moffitt Cancer Center's head and neck cancer screening program travels to venues in the Tampa Bay area community offering free head and neck cancer screenings and education to the public

Author: COE at Moffitt Cancer Center

Design, conceptualization, data analysis, visualizations

Nathanael Stanley, PhD - Applied Research Scientist

Conceptualization, multimedia

Topher Larkin - Community Outreach Worker Specialist

(left to right) Jeannette Palencia - Sr. Community Health Educator; Kenisha Avery COE Manager; Dr. Susan Vadaparampil PhD Associate Center Director for Outreach; Topher Larkin Community Outreach Specialist

South Shore Town Hall

2023 Outreach Planning Image: Blue counties = no outreach to date in 2023; Distances represent 50 miles from home base, which is max travel distance for Hillsborough-based outreach team members

2023 Outreach Planning Image: Skin cancer burden, identifying counties most affected by incidence and mortality

COE team members and volunteers at the Wimauma Health Expo May 2024 - Beth-El Farmworker Ministry, Inc.

2024 events by month of the year

Cancer sites requested for health education

Health insurance status of event attendees

Race/Ethnicity of event attendees

Gender identities of event attendees

Age groups of event attendees

Types of partnering organizations

Event Topics

Jeannette Palencia, Sr. Community Outreach Worker

Ladies Night, CDC of Tampa

Pinellas County Urban League event

Mole Patrol and COEE @ Migrant and Farmworker Health and Wellness Expo

COEE and Mole Patrol @ Migrant and Farmworker Health and Wellness Expo