ACRO’s Site Resource Grants are designed to serve as seed funding to help clinical research sites explore innovative strategies for improving clinical trial enrollment. Each grant allows the grantee site to enact a 12-month pilot project designed to educate and engage with their unique local community.
Nebraska Cancer Specialists is working to make clinical research more accessible to patients outside the traditional hospital or academic setting. With clinics in Omaha, Fremont, Kearney, Grand Island, and Council Bluffs, the team provides cutting-edge cancer treatment directly to their surrounding communities, combining advanced therapies with the accessibility of local care.
Through their ACRO grant, Nebraska Cancer Specialists is producing a series of short, educational videos to inform patients and increase awareness of–and enrollment into–their clinical research programs. These videos aim to demystify clinical trials, explain the benefits of participation, and address common questions or concerns. The team is also committed to educating physicians through “Lunch and Learn” sessions with rural community medical practices to strengthen referral networks and ensure that patients in underserved areas are aware of clinical trial opportunities.
The project’s primary goal is to increase the diversity of patients enrolled in therapeutic clinical trials. “Research benefits greatly from a diverse patient population to ensure treatments work well for everyone,” the team explains. By educating both patients and physicians, the project seeks to reduce clinical trials participation hesitancy and expand access within communities that may not typically have the opportunity to take part in clinical research.
By offering trials in a smaller-scale community setting, the practice is able to reach patients who might otherwise never consider or have access to such opportunities. Their approach ensures that more individuals, regardless of geographic location, can benefit from innovative treatments while contributing to the advancement of cancer research.
The work of Nebraska Cancer Specialists emphasizes the vitality of community-based practices and the key role such practices play in research. By offering clinical trials outside of large hospitals or academic settings, they provide a unique opportunity to reach patients who might otherwise be overlooked, improving access to cutting-edge treatments and strengthening research pipelines for the future.
