Getting Ahead for Cancer Control

The study team hypothesizes that the Getting Ahead program, applied in safety net practices with primary care patients living in poverty, will improve cancer prevention and early detection activities, mediated by a shift in future orientation gained through the program. This pilot study aims to adapt, apply, and evaluate the established Getting Ahead program in a health care setting and assess its effect on cancer prevention and early detection activities for vulnerable populations. By generating process and outcome data on a novel intervention to help people advance out of poverty, this research will set the stage for larger intervention studies, and also will advance understanding of the mechanisms by which growing a future orientation can improve cancer preventive service delivery among vulnerable populations. Specifically, this study aims to: 1. Implement Getting Ahead among cohorts of patients at a network of safety net practices. 2. Assess the paradigm shift in developing a future orientation associated with participation in the Getting Ahead program. 3. Evaluate the effect of the Getting Ahead program and its associated paradigm shift on graduates' cancer prevention and early detection activities.