Grant Number:	1R01CA315494-01 Interpret this number
Primary Investigator:	Carter-Bawa, Lisa
Organization:	Hackensack University Medical Center
Project Title:	CLEAR-LUNG: Community-Level Effectiveness to Advance Reach in Lung Cancer Screening
Fiscal Year:	2026

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Black Americans have the lowest rates of lung cancer survival in the U.S., largely due to later-stage diagnosis and persistently low uptake of lung cancer screening. To address these gaps, interventions must directly target barriers such as stigma, mistrust, and low awareness using culturally grounded strategies developed in partnership with the Black American community. Our long-term goal is to increase lung cancer screening and reduce mortality among Black adults. The short-term objective is to rigorously test a community-delivered intervention to improve screening uptake among screening-eligible Black adults in New York and New Jersey as a platform for broader dissemination. In collaboration with leaders of the National Witness Project® and using a community-based participatory research approach, this study has three aims: (1) compare the effectiveness of Witness Project® Lung – a culturally crafted, peer- and narrative-based intervention – versus a time- and attention-matched general cancer education program on verified lung cancer screening completion at 6 months (primary outcome) and secondary outcomes at the individual (mistrust, stigma, knowledge, barriers), interpersonal (social influence, social sharing), and community (built environment) levels in a type 1 hybrid effectiveness-implementation cluster randomized trial (N=400); (2) test whether reductions in stigma and mistrust and improvements in knowledge mediate screening completion, and identify contextual moderators such as faith-community engagement, social networks, and socioeconomic barriers; and (3) assess implementation readiness and sustainability using pragmatic RE-AIM indicators and stakeholder input. This project is innovative because it shifts engagement upstream of the healthcare system, situating education and navigation in trusted community venues. It is significant because it will generate the first rigorous evidence for a scalable, culturally grounded strategy to increase lung cancer screening among Black adults, with findings poised to inform national dissemination.





None