Rural communities in the United States have many difficulties getting special cancer care and chances to join cancer research. For example, people living in rural or frontier counties have about 10% higher cancer death rates than those in cities. This is mostly because of things like long distances to hospitals, not enough local resources, and weak healthcare systems.
One big problem is that students from rural areas often do not learn much about research jobs, especially in cancer studies. These students might not get the help or guidance they need to follow paths leading to cancer research or health jobs. Without special programs for them, many capable people from rural places do not start or stay in cancer research. This leads to fewer viewpoints and less understanding of rural health problems.
The Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) has made several programs to help rural students and trainees join cancer research and health jobs. These programs give chances for research training, mentorship, and learning experiences that many rural students might not get otherwise.
One example is the Summer Health Care Experience in Oncology (SHE) program, paid for by the American Cancer Society. This program focuses on female high school students from rural areas in the Mountain West region. It lets them learn about cancer careers by doing hands-on research and getting mentorship.
Many of these students come from areas with little access to cancer research labs or experts. Giving them a summer experience at a research center like HCI helps them gain skills, confidence, and knowledge. This can make them interested in cancer research or health jobs for a long time. The program also shows them many roles in cancer care, like lab research, clinical work, and health policy.
Besides SHE, HCI runs the PathMaker and PathMaker Bridge programs. PathMaker is for high school and college students and invites them to spend summer doing research on campus. These programs let students meet cancer scientists and medical experts. They work on projects, attend talks, and build connections that can help their studies.
PathMaker Bridge reaches out to middle and high school science teachers, mainly in rural areas. By involving teachers in current cancer research and teaching methods, this program helps improve science classes in rural schools. This indirectly helps students by making their classroom learning better and more useful.
For students going to historically Black colleges and universities, the 5 For The Fight internships offer chances to do independent research in cancer. This program also lets students present their findings at a Summer Research Symposium. This helps them practice sharing science ideas and making connections.
Mentorship is a key part of these programs. Katharine Ullman, senior director of cancer training and career enhancement at HCI, says mentorship is important at all learning stages. This support helps students and early-career researchers learn how to follow cancer research paths, build skills, and overcome problems linked to their backgrounds.
Ullman’s office also holds workshops to train graduate students and postdoctoral scholars to become mentors. This helps them guide fellow students and newer trainees better. It makes a more supportive place for future cancer scientists and helps postdoctoral scholars who often do not have clear career guidance.
Ullman wants to make research training easier to access and fair for everyone, especially those who might not know about cancer research jobs at first. This includes growing programs like SHE to reach more rural students and keeping them involved even when they face difficulties that might stop them from studying science.
The Huntsman Cancer Institute benefits from the Utah Population Database (UPDB), the biggest database of its kind in the U.S. It holds linked medical, family history, and demographic records of over 11 million people. This resource helps cancer research and genetic studies by offering special chances for students and researchers to learn about inherited cancer risks.
Having such large data helps educational programs by letting trainees work on real research questions about cancer genes and population health. This gives a more direct and meaningful learning experience.
New tools like artificial intelligence (AI) and workflow automation are becoming more important in healthcare, including cancer research and education. Using these tools helps both patients and learners by making tasks faster and results better.
AI is used at places like HCI to help close the gap in cancer care for rural areas by supporting remote patient help and clinical trials that are not in hospitals. The same technology can help education by offering virtual labs, smart learning software, and mentoring platforms. These tools connect rural students with experts no matter where they live.
Automated scheduling and AI communication systems make it easier to set up mentoring meetings, research tasks, and educational events. This helps students and trainees, especially those from far-away places, get the help they need on time and stay interested.
Running programs with many people, places, and projects needs good organization. Automation tools manage repeated admin jobs like handling applications, collecting data, tracking progress, and making reports. This lets program leaders and teachers focus more on helping students and improving lessons.
AI can also study student results to find where help is needed and adjust learning materials. This lets schools change programs quickly to better train future cancer researchers from areas with fewer resources.
As AI and automation improve, they will likely be used more in research training. They can watch how students stay involved, predict career success, and make better use of resources. These improvements can make cancer education easier to access, more flexible, and helpful for many groups, including rural students.
Medical administrators and IT managers in hospitals and health groups that work with cancer centers or research places should support these educational efforts. Doing so helps bring a more diverse workforce and improves fairness in cancer care over time.
Using front-office phone automation and AI answering services can help communication with students and community members interested in cancer research programs. These AI services handle questions, give quick answers, and help set up appointments or program sign-ups. This lowers problems caused by few staff or long distances.
Adding AI tools that support cancer education and research needs strong IT systems and teamwork with cancer centers. Health administrators should focus on data safety, smooth electronic communication, and virtual learning chances. This will help reach rural areas better.
Administrators can also work with places like HCI to use AI patient help models and teaching tools that reach rural communities. Such partnerships can improve a cancer center’s reputation and help reduce differences in care and chances across large areas.
Institutions like the Huntsman Cancer Institute show how programs designed for rural students can help them join cancer research fields. These programs work to remove usual problems by giving mentorship, research chances, and career support made for rural students and diverse groups.
When combined with AI and automation, these programs can become more effective. This allows rural communities to take part more fully in cancer research and future health improvements. For healthcare leaders and IT professionals in the U.S., backing these programs and using AI tools can help build a cancer research workforce that is fairer and better able to solve real problems faced by rural cancer patients.
Huntsman Cancer Institute aims to improve cancer outcomes for rural and frontier populations through research, innovative care delivery models, and overcoming distance as a barrier to access.
AI enhances healthcare delivery by providing innovative solutions that bridge gaps in access, enabling remote patient monitoring, predictive analytics, and personalized treatment strategies.
Huntsman Cancer Institute offers rural patient navigation services and Huntsman at Home™, a unique model for delivering cancer care at home.
Decentralized clinical trials allow participants in rural areas to access cutting-edge treatments and trials through local partnerships, minimizing travel barriers.
Patients diagnosed with cancer in rural areas face a 10% higher mortality rate due to challenges in accessing specialized cancer care.
The Institute implements evidence-based smoking cessation strategies and collaborates with local organizations to support rural health initiatives.
The UPDB is a powerful resource linking medical and demographic records, helping researchers identify genetic patterns related to cancer in families.
The Institute offers cancer education programs for students to empower the next generation of cancer scientists, particularly from rural backgrounds.
Key research areas include rural/frontier cancer needs, breast cancer screening, melanoma care, and health care delivery transformation through technology.
Huntsman Cancer Institute promotes sun safety through advocacy, outreach initiatives at ski areas and national parks, and fostering a community of melanoma researchers.
Simbo is using AI agents to automate all phone related workflows. Connect now to know more.
Schedule AI Agents Demo Now© Since 2019, Simbo AI.
