Engaging rural communities in cancer prevention and control research: Development and preliminary insights from a community‐based research registry

Objective To report on the development and preliminary findings of a community‐based cancer registry, including the community‐engaged approach to recruitment, participant profile, and distribution of cancer risk factors by race/ethnicity and geography. Methods Community outreach and engagement best practices were used to recruit a diverse convenience sample of Virginia residents (≥18 years) that oversampled residents living in rural areas, defined as Rural‐Urban Continuum Codes (RUCC) 4–9 and African American (AA)/Black residents. Multiple survey administration methods included electronic (e‐survey) and in‐person survey by community‐based staff. Results At the time of this analysis, 595 participants are enrolled; 73% are rural, 46% are AA/Black. AA/Black participants reported similar education but lower income (p
Community outreach and engagement builds bidirectional relationships among community members, patients, and researchers to prioritize community cancer needs. The Virginia Living Well Research and Registry (VALW) (currently n = 595) was developed to build bidirectional exchange relationships and collect critical longitudinal cancer prevention and control data within the cancer center catchment area.