THEAL's first 9 months reached 2,187 clients via patient navigators; 2,143 breast cancer screenings done; 100% of 115 survey participants gained knowledge and confidence.
Implementation of a multi-sector collaboration in Greater Houston successfully reached over 2,000 women with patient navigation and breast cancer screening services within its first 9 months.
Absolute Event Rate: 0% vs 0%
Abstract Most recently available data indicates promising improvements in rates of breast cancer screening and diagnosis across all populations of women. However, there is still a persistent disparate outcome in breast cancer mortality affecting Black women in Harris County, Texas. These elevated risks are primarily attributed to non-medical drivers of health, such as racism, living and working conditions, structural barriers to care, complex healthcare systems, and cost. Launched in 2023, the Texas Health Equity Alliance for Breast Cancer (THEAL) is a multi-sector collaboration focused on reducing breast cancer disparities in Greater Houston guided by the principles of cross-sector collaboration, system strengthening, and aligned multilateral impact. The goal of THEAL is to decrease the breast cancer mortality gap by 15% and reduce significant barriers faced by Black women across the cancer care continuum over the next decade in Harris County. THEAL builds upon the expertise of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Health Disparities Research department in addressing the determinants of cancer disparities while leveraging the Cancer Prevention and Control Platform’s experience in leading cross-sector collaboratives for community impact. The initiative structure includes a backbone team of seven organizations and a Steering Committee of 20+ organizations who foster collaboration, support implementation, evaluation, and sustainability. The first year of the initiative was dedicated to coalition building, aligning around a shared vision, and a facilitated competitive and collaborative request for proposals process. In the second year of the initiative and the first year of implementation (2024-2025), eight collaborating organizations were funded to implement seven evidence-based interventions (e.g., patient education, patient navigation and financial assistance) aimed at improving outcomes for Black women across the cancer care continuum. All collaborating organizations submitted quarterly reports to document progress toward set objectives and specific shared measures. Over the first 9 months of implementation, 2,187 clients have been reached by a patient navigator with 967 receiving direct services; 2,143 breast cancer screenings have been completed; 98 clients have received financial assistance; 1,358 people have attended 38 events or classes and of the 115 participants who have completed post class/event surveys, 100% have indicated self-reported knowledge and confidence gained. All the collaborating organizations have demonstrated a commitment to the THEAL goals and are collectively reaching and impacting women across Houston through programs in the community and quality improvement programs in clinics. Citation Format: M. E. Brown, R. S. Bello, C. L. Roberson, K. Oestman, R. Rechis, L. McNeill. Implementation of strategies across sectors to reduce breast cancer in Greater Houston abstract. In: Proceedings of the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium 2025; 2025 Dec 9-12; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2026;32(4 Suppl):Abstract nr PS5-10-05
Brown et al. (Tue,) reported a other. THEAL's first 9 months reached 2,187 clients via patient navigators; 2,143 breast cancer screenings done; 100% of 115 survey participants gained knowledge and confidence.