Unified Network Initiative to Enhance Community Dialogue and Site Education (UNITED)

Since 2021, the NCI Division of Cancer Prevention (DCP) has supported an initiative for the US-Latin American-Caribbean HIV/HPV Cancer Prevention Clinical Trials Network (ULACNet) focused on community engagement and site education activities. With the launch of the HIV/Cervical Cancer Prevention ‘CASCADE’ Clinical Trials Network, which shares a focus on the population of individuals living with HIV, the UNITED initiative has been expanded and reorganized.

UNITED provides a dynamic framework for both ULACNet and CASCADE to promote activities that build shared trust between researchers and communities, and to ensure that research outcomes and benefits are disseminated to study participants and the broader community.

UNITED will enhance both the ULACNet and CASCADE networks by:

1. Providing a forum for network members to share knowledge and lessons learned on effective strategies for enhancing study recruitment and community engagement;
2. Providing training and educational opportunities for CASCADE and ULACNet members; and
3. Providing clinical trial resources for network study participants, their families, and the public.

The activities in the expanded UNITED program align with the goals and strategies of the National Cancer Plan, especially:

• Effectively partnering with providers, researchers, and communities at increased risk for cancer to improve screening rates;
• Engaging communities in cancer education and promoting structural changes that increase prevention and early detection;
• Identifying and putting into effect best practices for public engagement, communication, and health literacy related to cancer risk, prevention, treatment, and survivorship that are tailored to community needs;
• Ensuring that opportunities to participate in and benefit from research are widely available to all groups; and
• Applying ways to meaningfully return research results to study participants.