Office of Community Outreach & Engagement
Our Mission: Better Outcomes for Everybody
Health care is not experienced equally across the nation and a number of communities shoulder an unequal and unjust burden of cancer. Cancer health inequities are differences in cancer outcomes, such as screening rates, incidence (new cases), stage at diagnosis, mortality (deaths), quality of life after cancer treatment and survivorship that often place minority populations at a disadvantage. These minority groups are characterized by race, ethnicity, disability, gender, sexual identity, geographic location (rurality), lower income, lower education or other characteristics. In general, people of color and those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds (poor, those who lack health insurance, those with limited or no access to effective health care) experience a greater cancer burden than the general U.S. population. As such, they are more likely to be diagnosed with cancer once it has reached a later stage of development. They are also more likely to die from treatable cancers that may have been detected early with screening.
Our Vision: Promote Health Equity
The Office of Community Outreach & Engagement's (OCOE) vision is to promote health equity by generating and facilitating cancer research that addresses and reduces cancer health disparities in the catchment area through authentic engagement, a community-engaged/community-based participatory research approach, and education driven by community need.
Research
Learn more about our research and how our office can support you with requests.
Outreach & Engagement
Learn more about our outreach & engagement work and how our office can support you with requests.
Our Team
Learn more about our team and internal and external advisory boards.
OCOE Strategic Goals
Success Through Community Partnerships
Successful research development and implementation through community voice is developed in partnership with OCOE's Community Action Coalition in Western Washington and Community Action Board in Eastern Washington. With these stakeholders, we strive to promote bidirectional, equitable partnerships with community-based organizations (CBOs). This community engaged approach allows us to get direct input and feedback from people working in and serving populations in our catchment area.
Signature Events & Programs
OCOE collaborates with partner organizations to plan and implement events and share information, strategies and resources to expand collective knowledge on the health disparities affecting different communities.
- Community Grants Program
- Health & Wellness Festival
- Pathways to Health Equity Symposium
- Latina Health Symposium
Contact Us
We are available to talk about our research, engagement and outreach efforts and how we can support your work.
Mailing Address
The Office of Community Outreach and Engagement
1100 Fairview Ave. N.
Mail Stop M3-B232
Seattle, WA 98109