Abstract B065: Community engagement strategies to promote cancer prevention research participation among foreign-born, low-income, Spanish-speaking Latino adults

Abstract Intro: Latino adults are highly underrepresented in cancer prevention research compared to other ethnic groups, due to factors such as mistrust and language barriers. Employing community engagement strategies, such as language justice-centered approaches and incorporating community leaders, can help promote research participation. This study aims to highlight community engagement strategies and explore perspectives of participants related to research participation in the Movement over Virtual Reality (MovR) study. The MoVR study explored the acceptability of using virtual reality (VR) to promote physical activity in the Latino community. We learned valuable insights from participants when introducing new technology to the community. Methods: We used a mixed-methods approach to evaluate perspectives on research participation and employed several community-centered strategies to bolster community engagement. Promotores led participant recruitment and accompanied study visits when necessary. Study visits were conducted by a culturally congruent and bilingual study team at a trusted, community-based location central to participants in south Los Angeles. Study visits were structured step by step to ensure participants’ understanding and engagement. Participants answered demographic questions related to their country of birth, income, and preferred language. To assess comfort participating in research, participants completed pre- and post- surveys at the beginning and end of the study visit. Pre-surveys asked, “How comfortable do you feel participating in a research study?” (Likert scale, 1-5). Post-surveys asked, “How comfortable do you feel participating in a future research study after today?” (1-5) along with an open-ended question following, “What made you feel comfortable or uncomfortable?”. Results: We administered study visits entirely in participants’ preferred language (English or Spanish). Informed consent was conducted in a group setting with time for questions to address any reservations. Participants received an orientation on how to use VR and received one-on-one facilitation from team members during their experience. Focus groups were conducted following the VR experience. Of 66 participants that consented and participated in the MoVR study, 50 (75.6%) completed demographic and pre/post- surveys. Most participants were born outside of the U.S. (80%), preferred Spanish as first language (78%), and fell into the very-low-income category (62%). A Wilcoxon signed-rank test indicated that comfort participating in research was significantly higher post-intervention, than pre intervention, indicated by a value of p<0.05. Conclusion: Our strategies engaged a highly underrepresented group to participate in community based participatory research and explore new technology. Participants expressed greater comfort participating in future research after their experiences with the MoVR study. Future research studies centering underrepresented groups should thoughtfully plan and employ engagement strategies to center the community. Citation Format: Gael Perez, Leslie Aguilar-Hernandez, Desiree R. Acosta, Iris Guzman-Ruiz, Michael Fine, Yelba Castellon-Lopez. Community engagement strategies to promote cancer prevention research participation among foreign-born, low-income, Spanish-speaking Latino adults [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 18th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities; 2025 Sep 18-21; Baltimore, MD. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2025;34(9 Suppl):Abstract nr B065.