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The University of Kansas Cancer Center (KUCC) is a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center, the only one in the state of Kansas. KUCC operates as a matrix organization that includes multiple campuses and partners, such as the University of Kansas Medical Center, the Stowers Institute for Medical Research, and Children's Mercy Kansas City. The cancer center focuses on advancing discoveries from the laboratory to the patients' bedside and has a strong emphasis on clinical trials. KUCC has three research programs that cover different aspects of cancer, and it pays special attention to the unique needs of people in its catchment area. The center has made significant contributions to the field of cancer research and has a comprehensive clinical trial portfolio. It has conducted studies on various types of cancer, including bladder cancer, triple negative breast cancer, and gastric cancer. KUCC is also involved in cellular therapy research, particularly CAR-T cell therapy. The center is committed to reducing disparities in access to cancer care and clinical trial enrollment for underserved populations. The KUCC clinic trial office provides comprehensive support services for clinical trials, and the center has seen an increase in clinical trial accrual in recent years. Overall, KUCC's success in clinical research demonstrates the importance of investigational clinical trials in the fight against cancer. [Extracted from the article]

Introduction: South Africa is an upper middle-income country with wide wealth inequality. It faces a quadruple burden of disease and poor health outcomes, with access to appropriate and adequate health care a challenge for millions of South Africans. The introduction of large-scale, comprehensive community health worker (CHW) programs in the country, within the context of implementing universal health coverage, was anticipated to improve population health outcomes. However, there is inadequate local (or global) evidence on whether such programs are effective, especially in urban settings.Methods: This study is part of a multi-method, quasi-experimental intervention study measuring effectiveness of a large-scale CHW program in a health district in an urban province of South Africa, where CHWs now support approximately one million people in 280,000 households. Using interviewer administered questionnaires, a 2019 cross-sectional survey of 417 vulnerable households with long-term CHW support (intervention households) are compared to 417 households with no CHW support (control households). Households were selected from similar vulnerable areas from all sub-levels of the Ekurhuleni health district.Results: The 417 intervention and control households each had good health knowledge. Compared to controls, intervention households with long-term comprehensive CHW support were more likely to access early care, get diagnosed for a chronic condition, be put on treatment and be well controlled on chronic treatment. They were also more likely to receive a social grant, and have a birth certificate or identity document. The differences were statistically significant for social support, health seeking behavior, and health outcomes for maternal, child health and chronic care.Conclusion: A large-scale and sustained comprehensive CHW program in an urban setting improved access to social support, chronic and minor acute health services at household and population level through better health-seeking behavior and adherence to treatment. Direct evidence from households illustrated that such community health worker programs are therefore effective and should be part of health systems in low- and middle-income countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]