Cancer Survivorship and Caregiver Leadership Education for Clergy Wives and Widows

Multiple cancer health disparities exist for underrepresented minority groups, such as higher late stage diagnoses and greater cancer-related deaths. Among African Americans, there is an increased cancer survivorship and caregiving burden, which necessitates more support and resources during these phases. The African American church has been evidenced to be a trusted source of resource and provide culturally competent care and contribute to decreasing these disparities. Importantly, the leadership of the African American churches are pivotal to the health and wellness of this population. One important leader is the clergy wife or widow, who is understudied but vital to the function of the church function and activities. The long-term goal of this proposed study is to develop a leadership training program for clergy wives and widows with emphasis on cancer survivorship and caregiving. The objective of this pilot project is to develop and test the Cancer Survivorship and Caregiver Leadership Education for Clergy Wives and Widows, with specific emphasis of cultural and spiritual considerations of African American cancer survivors and caregivers. The rationale for this project, is that African American clergy wives and widows can receive the necessary training to assist cancer survivors and caregivers in the management of physical, emotional, psychosocial, spiritual, and financial challenges. This study will be accomplished in four aims, which are 1) Develop skills and knowledge to perform an in-depth culturally sensitive need assessment and intervention map tailored for aging African American cancer survivors and caregivers, 2) To increase cancer survivorship and caregiving leadership education and activities for African American Clergy Wives and Widows, and 3) Enhance awareness of cancer-related health issues and its relationship to key determinants among aging cancer survivors and caregivers. This project is innovative in establishing a culturally and spiritually tailored intervention to develop the training of Clergy Wives and Widows to provide appropriate education for community dwelling African American survivors and caregivers. This research is significant because of its potential to inform cancer and caregiving related research and evidence-based practice for both health care professionals and community organizations and institutions to improve long term-health outcomes.