Team Members
- Reginald Tucker-Seeley
- Robin Wright-Jones
- Darrell Hudson
Research Project Description
Across the prostate cancer continuum from prevention to end-of-life care, Black men have worse outcomes compared to White men. Specifically, Black men are more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer, present at an earlier age, are likely to have more advanced disease at diagnosis, and have suboptimal outcomes to standard treatments. Therefore, ensuring timely diagnosis for this population and equitable treatment following diagnosis is critical to reducing the disparities experienced by Black men at risk for prostate cancer. Yet, there are many barriers to engagement with the healthcare delivery system for Black men; for example, historical and current experiences of multiple levels of racism have eroded the trust and the perceived trustworthiness of the healthcare delivery system for Black men. In addition, factors such as lower levels of health literacy and masculinity-related issues also contribute to lower levels of health care delivery system engagement.
The team members will use a community-participatory research approach to create a Learning Community (LC) of Black male prostate cancer (PCa) patients, PCa care providers (primary and specialty), and healthcare system administrators with a common goal of articulating the characteristics of an equitable cancer care delivery system; and for the identification of tools that eliminate barriers/facilitate to PCa care equity for Black men as they navigate the healthcare/cancer care delivery system. The Learning Community (LC) will identify pathways for dissemination of best practices to facilitate healthcare delivery system change to address structural racism and create equity in prostate cancer (PCa) care in St. Louis and nationally. The ongoing relationship amongst the LC members will strengthen our ability to integrate multiple stakeholder perspectives into current and future initiatives where the needs and voice of Black men can be centered.
Team Members
Reginald Tucker-Seeley
Dr. Tucker-Seeley brings 20+ years of experience in public health, health policy, cancer research, health disparities and social determinants of health. He has received funding from the National Cancer Institute and Aetna Foundation and has published 50+ papers in high impact journals such as the Journal of Clinical Oncology, AJPH, and JNCI. In 2017-2018, he was an RWJF Health Policy Fellow with a placement in Senator Dianne Feinstein's office in DC.
Robin Wright-Jones
Ms. Robin Wright-Jones has served as Executive Director of the Empowerment Network (TEN) in 2014. She was a member of the Missouri House of Representatives from 2000 to 2008 and the Missouri Senate from 2009 to 2012. She represented House District 63 and Senate District 5 both of which covered the City of St. Louis including the Downtown Business District.
Darrell Hudson
Dr. Hudson's research agenda centers on how social determinants of health, particularly racism, affect multiple health outcomes. He has also conducted research on perceptions of depression and mental health care among African Americans and has investigated co-morbid depression and Type 2 diabetes in various settings.
