Building Equal Access Together in Cancer (BEAT-C)

Building Equal Access Together in Cancer (BEAT-C) to Reduce Inequities in Minority Cancer Survivor Health and Improve Wellbeing in Washington, DC
  • This project is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award (U01DP006639). The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

ABOUT THE STUDY 

This project identifies and addresses the social needs of people affected by cancer.

What we do: 

  • Screening people with a history of breast and prostate cancer for social needs and identifying resources to meet those needs

  • Testing the impact of a six-month community health worker (CHW) intervention on cancer survivor quality of life 

  • Standing up diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ) task forces across three cancer centers to address structural bias

  • Training staff and clinicians on implicit bias

This project is a collaboration of the GW Cancer Center, MedStar Washington Hospital Center, Washington Cancer Institute, and Howard University Cancer Center( MPIs: Arem/Pratt Chapman). 

Our study endpoints include:

  • Patient experiences of Impact of CHW support on cancer survivor quality of life

  • Organizational change and addressing structural bias across three cancer centers

The long-term goal of this study is to develop scalable, sustainable, and effective interventions to address the social needs of cancer patients and create equitable cultures of clinical care. 

WHO WE ARE

Investigator Team

  • Hannah Arem , PhD, Co-Principal Advisor (MPI)

    Scientific Director,  Implementation Science,  Health care delivery research (MedStar Health Research Institute)
    Associate Professor, Department of Oncology, Georgetown School of Medicine

  • Mandi L. Pratt-Chapman, PhD, MA, OPN-CG, Co-Principal Investigator (MPI)

    Associate Professor, Medicine, School of Medicine and Health Sciences
    Associate Professor, Prevention and Community Health, Milken Institute School of Public Health
    Associate Center Director, Patient-Centered Initiatives & Health Equity, GW Cancer Center
    The George Washington University

  • Christopher Gallagher, MD, Co-Investigator

    Medical Director of Cancer Services at MedStar Washington Hospital Center

  • Christopher King, PhD, Co-Investigator

    Chair, Health Systems Administration, Georgetown University

  • Teletia Taylor, PhD, Co-Investigator

    Associate Professor, Medicine and Psychology, Howard University Cancer Center

  • Yan Wang, MD, DrPH, Co-Investigator

    Associate Professor of Prevention and Community Health; Milken Institute School of Public Health
    The George Washington University

 

Project Team

  • Shayla Scarlett, MBA, MPA, PM

    Assistant Director, Community Outreach, Engagement and Equity (GW Cancer Center) 

  • Karey M. Sutton, PhD

    Scientific Director, Health Equity Research (MedStar Health Research Institute)

  • Jessica N. Rivera, PhD, MPH

    Research Scientist, Implementation Science, Healthcare delivery research (MedStar Health Research Institute)

  • Arianna Milicia

    Project manager, Senior Research Associate, National Center For Human Factors in Healthcare (MedStar Health Research Institute)

  • Marjanna Smith

    Senior Research Associate, Implementation Science, Healthcare delivery research (MedStar Health Research Institute)

  • Nafesa Roshan MA-SID, MPM

    Data Coordination Support and Quality Control (Administrative support, GW Cancer Center) 

  • Andrea Lopez, Clinical Research Coordinator (Clinical Research Coordinator, MedStar Health)

  • Annie Mcdonnell, Data Coordination Support (Research Assistant, GW Cancer Center)

Participant Advisory Board

  • Tallulah Anderson
  • Jaqueline Beale
  • Roger Clark
  • Cheryl Shaw

Newsletter

You can find the latest information about the project here.

  Newsletter 2025
  Archive

 

Resources and Results

Resources & Results

  • Find our latest resource list here:

    For the English version, click here.

    For the Spanish version, click here.

     

  • This is a five-year initiative. Please check back periodically for the latest information.

 

Contact Us

Contact 

Questions, concerns, or complaints, please contact the research team lead investigators at:

  • Hannah [dot] Arem [at] medstar [dot] net (Hannah[dot]Arem[at]medstar[dot]net)

  • Mandi [at] gwu [dot] edu (Mandi[at]gwu[dot]edu)

Ethical Review

This research has been reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board ("IRB") #STUDY00004397.

Contact details: irboard [at] georgetown [dot] edu (irboard[at]georgetown[dot]edu) | 202-741-2210

Resources

Please find our resource list here.

Results

This is a five-year initiative. Please check back periodically for the latest information.

Contact

If you have questions, concerns, or complaints, please contact the research team lead investigators at:

  • Hannah [dot] Arem [at] medstar [dot] net (Hannah[dot]Arem[at]medstar[dot]net)
  • Mandi [at] gwu [dot] edu (Mandi[at]gwu[dot]edu)

Ethical Review

This research has been reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board ("IRB") #STUDY00004397.

Contact details: irboard [at] georgetown [dot] edu (irboard[at]georgetown[dot]edu) | 202-741-2210