Collaborating to Eliminate Health Disparities

The American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy’s (ASTCT™) mission is “to improve the application and success of blood and marrow transplantation and related cellular therapies,” with passionate volunteer leaders and staff members leading the effort to expand access to cellular therapies for all in need of care. However, disparities within the field are an unfortunate reality and disproportionately affect racial and ethnic minority groups and people with lower incomes. Hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) is often a costly procedure and not readily accessible to underserved communities who are most in need.

Understanding, identifying, and implementing effective strategies to address inequities in HCT and cellular therapies is critical to ensuring proper care is afforded to all. In response to these barriers to care, the Smithbucklin team helped ASTCT leadership form the ASTCT-NMDP® ACCESS Initiative. 

The Creation of the ACCESS Initiative

A collaborative group dedicated to the ACCESS Initiative was formed in March 2022, followed by an ACCESS Initiative Workshop in Washington, D.C. in July 2022. At the workshop leaders from both organizations discussed the mission, vision, structure and strategic plan for the ACCESS Initiative. 

As a result of this meeting, the collaborative group became three subcommittees with respective goals:

• The Committee on Awareness to increase ACCESS to all patients via community awareness for pre-referral and referral to improve outcomes and survival for both providers and patients
• The Committee on Poverty to reduce barriers to transplant through Medicaid, create an advocate SWAT “posse” of transplant professionals to advocate for patients and provide care, utilize data analysis to understand access barriers, and identify psychosocial and financial resources for those in need
• The Committee on Racial and Ethnic Inequity to improve equity in access and outcomes for all transplant and cell therapy recipients regardless of their race or ethnicity through leveling knowledge, optimizing data, and workforce development for underrepresented trainees

On behalf of ASTCT, the Smithbucklin marketing team serving the organization helped ASTCT introduce these efforts to members and the HCT community as a whole. 

Marketing to Raise Public Awareness

Due to its recent debut in 2022, the ACCESS Initiative remains relatively new to the members of each organization’s network and is therefore a top priority for ASTCT build awareness around. 

ASTCT utilized the association’s largest yearly conference, The 2023 Tandem Meetings | Transplantation & Cellular Therapy Meetings of ASTCT™ and CIBMTR®, as a leveraging opportunity to introduce ASTCT members to the initiative. To ensure Tandem Meeting attendees would participate in onsite education and build awareness of the ACCESS Initiative prior to the Tandem Meetings, Smithbucklin assisted ASTCT in developing and executing a marketing plan that included: 

• Promoting an open-access article from ASTCT’s journal introducing the initiative
• Recording a podcast episode with a distinguished ASTCT member discussing disparities within the field that are core to the ACCESS Initiative’s goals
• Partnering with committee members on written pieces for Healio, a well-known medical news site
• Sending out standalone email and social media communications encouraging attendance for the ACCESS Initiative session at the Tandem Meetings
• Creating print collateral that included a QR code to direct attendees to the ACCESS Initiative interest form  

Moving the Needle

Since its launch at the Tandem Meetings in February 2023, a large number of ASTCT members have indicated interest in volunteering with the ACCESS Initiative. Andre Williams, a Smithbucklin executive director who serves ASTCT, felt the initiative spearheaded efforts to create equal access for HCT/CT: 

“Equal access and outcomes in HCT and cellular therapy is not just a goal, it is a fundamental right for every patient. The ASTCT-NMDP Access Initiative demonstrates that, when we work together to address disparities and ensure equality, we can achieve remarkable results and transform lives.” – Andre Williams 

As the ASTCT board looks to the future, they plan to develop a strategy around identifying opportunities to enhance the availability and awareness of psychosocial and financial resources to patients, centers, and other stakeholders, an exceptional takeaway for all volunteer members who contribute their time to the association, the initiative, and patient care and outcomes. 

Dani Damario and Rachel Schollmeier are in Marketing & Communications Services at Smithbucklin.