Abstract B078: Developing a toolkit for CBOs to enhance education and navigation of Latinas at risk of HBOC to genetic services and risk management care

Abstract Background: Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of cancer death among Latina women. National guidelines recommend genetic counseling and testing (GCT) for patients at-risk of hereditary breast and ovarian cancers (HBOC). Compared to non-Hispanic Whites, Latinas are less likely to receive GCT because of systemic (e.g., healthcare bias) and patient-level barriers (e.g., lack of insurance). Community based organizations (CBOs) play a key role in providing essential healthcare services to underserved communities, including Latina women. CBOs can serve as a bridge to connect underserved Latinas to genetic services. There is a need to develop interventions to streamline awareness, education, and resources for CBOs to refer Latinas at-risk of HBOC to GCT or risk-management care. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to co-develop a CBO toolkit to implement identification and referral of Latinas at risk of HBOC to GCT and risk-management care in partnership with multiple stakeholders. Methods: We conducted a focus group with multiple key stakeholders (N=8), which included patient navigators at partnering CBOs, clinicians, and representatives from local health departments and patient advocacy groups. During the focus group we asked for participants’ about perceived barriers/facilitators for Latinas to access GCT and risk-management care, resources, and suggestions for the CBO toolkit. Results: There were 3 main themes identified: barriers/facilitators to GCT completion, CBO toolkit suggestions, and policy implications. For the toolkit development, results greatly favored the toolkit being in a website format to facilitate accessibility, bilingual in English and Spanish, with extensive resources and educational materials on HBOC and GCT. Visual, and easy to use format with downloadable content was preferred. Conclusion: The development of a CBO toolkit to facilitate navigation of at-risk Latinas to GCT services and risk management follow-up care is an important step to reduce healthcare barriers. Citation Format: Sara Idris, Dariana Sedeño-Delgado, Valeria Gómez, Ruth Noll, Rachel Loia, Sophia Samson, Kristi Graves, Marc Schwartz, Beth Peshkin, Chiranjeev Dash, Vanessa Sheppard, Paula Cupertino, Pilar Carrera, Geoffrey Curran, Brenda Roig, Nathaly Garces Lenis, Mary Mills, Nancy Valencia-Rojas, Gina Hernandez, Kennya Alvarado, Andrea Bedregal, Lisa Schlager, Diane Rose, Abraham Aragones, Alejandra Hurtado de Mendoza. Developing a toolkit for CBOs to enhance education and navigation of Latinas at risk of HBOC to genetic services and risk management care [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 B078.