Researchers from the Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, the David Geffen School of Medicine, and the Fielding School of Public Health at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) were awarded a $2.5 million grant from the independent charitable organization Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation to establish a new initiative aimed at reducing disparities in lung cancer screening across Los Angeles County.
Background
Lung cancer is currently the primary cause of cancer-related mortality in California and the United States.
“We know from decades of public health research that early detection of lung cancer saves lives,” explained Drew Moghanaki, MD, MPH, Professor and Chief of Thoracic Oncology in the Department of Radiation Oncology at UCLA, Co-Director of the VA Greater Los Angeles Lung Precision Oncology program, and a member of the steering committee of the American Cancer Society’s National Lung Cancer Round Table. “Unfortunately, many high-risk individuals face barriers to accessing lung cancer screening and our hope is that this initiative will demonstrate how a high-resource institution like UCLA can collaborate with community hospitals to not only save more lives in the short term but also pave the way for lasting improvements in lung cancer outcomes across the region and eventually across the entire state of California,” he added.
Overview of New Program
The award will support a new program called California Partnerships to Increase Access to Lung Cancer Screening (CAL-PALS), which will involve collaboration between a multidisciplinary team of experts in lung cancer screening and implementation science from UCLA and two community hospitals: Northridge Hospital Medical Center and St. Mary Medical Center. The researchers will work to expand access to life-saving lung cancer screening for ethnically minoritized, low-income, and other marginalized groups residing in Los Angeles County—where screening rates remain low at 5% to 6%.
The CAL-PALS program will support implementation strategies within routine operations of the collaborating hospitals that will involve workflow changes with the support of a designated lung cancer screening physician champion and lung cancer screening navigator, both funded by the grant. The researchers will seek to engage physicians and staff across each hospital system to create system-level changes that successfully and sustainably increase access to high-quality lung cancer screening services. Simultaneous community initiatives to increase awareness will include educational campaigns, language support services, and community outreach to ensure that residents of Los Angeles County are aware of the lung cancer screening services they may be eligible for.
The program will work collaboratively to develop culturally appropriate strategies with community stakeholders to dismantle patient barriers to lung cancer screening, such as stigma, fear, and guilt about developing lung cancer following years of cigarette smoking; as well as a lack of knowledge about the ease, availability, and value of lung cancer screening and modern treatment options that are improving survival and quality of life among patients with lung cancer.
Conclusions
By working closely with each community hospital’s leadership, medical staff, patients, and community advocates, the CAL-PALS program researchers hope to change regional knowledge and perceptions surrounding lung cancer and emphasize the importance of early detection for lung cancer.
“The Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation is proud to help stand up the crucial work of the CAL-PALS [program] as part of our commitment to address lung cancer disparities in the United States by building local health-care capacity. We are leveraging the lessons learned and the significant strides made by Dr. Moghanaki and the VA-PALS program, and the contributions that the success of that program made towards the VA’s national lung cancer screening program and goal to screen over 1 million veterans at risk,” underscored Catharine Grimes, MBA, President of the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation. “Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the [United States], and increasing detection at earlier, treatable stages is the linchpin to saving more lives. Underserved communities in Los Angeles County can face steep barriers to accessing screening services, but CAL-PALS will help bridge gaps to ensure vulnerable populations can more easily access the care they need,” she concluded.
