CANCER DISPARITIES NEWS DIGEST (08.26.08)
CRCHD Announcements
Cancer Health Disparities Summit 2008 Focuses on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities
At CRCHD's recent CHD Summit '08, over 900 health disparities residents, practitioners, advocates, community leaders met in Bethesda, MD July 14-16 to network, share successes and lessons learned. "This was a most highly successful conference," says CRCHD Director Dr. Sanya Springfield. Summit '08 presentations are now available online.
http://crchd.cancer.gov/news/summit-2008.html
NCI's Cancer Health Disparities Summit 2008 Teleconference: Continues to Help Get the Word Out!
A Post-Summit Teleconference, featuring CRCHD Director Dr. Sanya Springfield and key presenters, Drs. Claudia Baquet, Kathryn Braun, and Jesus Tovar, continue to spread the word about the accomplishments of NCI grantees via radio airwaves. Teleconference has aired over 2300 times on radio stations and networks across the nation.
http://www.radiospace.com/nci.htm
CRCHD Staff Comings and Goings!
As part of an ongoing expansion, CRCHD is pleased to welcome Drs. Alexis Bakos, Maria (Mayté) Canto, and Martha Hare as new staff to the Center. Dr. Bakos has been named chief of the CRCHD Diversity Training Branch (DTB), and will be coordinating DTB's programs designed to improve the diversity of the cancer research workforce. Drs. Canto and Hare are program directors for CRCHD's Community Networks Program and Patient Navigation Research Program, respectively. Welcome! Meet the Staff
Over the next few months, CRCHD is looking forward to continue increasing staff. Vacancy announcements for four health scientist administrator positions in our Diversity Training and Disparities Research Branches are open until the end of this month, and can be found at
CRCHD also extends a fond farewell to Mrs. Belinda Locke and Dr. Roland Garcia. Mrs. Locke has recently left the Center to join the National Institute of Child Health and Development (NICHD) as a Health Science Administrator, and Dr. Garcia has retired. We wish them well.
Dr. Judith Salmon Kaur Appointed to National Cancer Advisory Board
Congratulations to Dr. Judith Salmon Kaur, M.D., Principal Investigator for the CRCHD Community Networks Program (CNP), on her recent appointment to a four year term on the NCI's National Cancer Advisory Board.
http://crchd.cancer.gov/cnp
Newly Released! Cancer Health Disparities (CHD) Summit 2007 Report
Last year's CHD Summit '07 highlighted trans-disciplinary partnerships and collaborations, emphasized geographic strategies, facilitated the sharing of best practices, and identified critical elements required to better address the elimination of cancer health disparities. See Summit '07 report for a summary of these activities as well as a discussion of challenges and solutions across our NIH-funded health disparities programs.
http://cancermeetings.org/CHDSummit07/FinalReport.pdf
Cancer News from NCI, NIH, and other Federal Agencies
From NCI
Useful Reference! NCI Fact Book 2007
NCI Fact Book 2007 summarizes NCI's FY 2007 budget of $4.8 billion by research program and funding mechanism, highlights funding policies, and makes comparisons with prior year allocations.
http://crchd.cancer.gov/attachments/NCI_07Factbook.pdf
From NIH
National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD) Sponsored NIH Wide Health Disparities Conference: Registration Now Open!
This upcoming NCMHD sponsored Summit is scheduled for December 16-18, 2008, at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, MD. Invited to attend are health disparities researchers, healthcare professionals, health educators, health policy leaders, media and community advocates interested in best-practice models and strategies with the potential to transform current approaches to health disparities, strengthen the research enterprise, and enhance the translation of research findings, communication, and information dissemination.
http://www.blsmeetings.net/2008healthdisparitiessummit
NIH Creates a $1.5 million-a-year Global Health Program to Fight Chronic Diseases
NIH's Fogarty International Center launches a $1.5 million-a-year grant program to fund domestic and overseas training of researchers to build research capacity in cancer, stroke, lung disease, environmental factors, obesity, lifestyle and the relationship of all these conditions to the genetics of chronic diseases in countries often thought of only in terms of infectious diseases.
http://www.nih.gov/news
Other Federal Agencies
HHS Awards $49.1 Million to States to Increase Access to Health Care Coverage
HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt recently announced awards of over $49 million in grants to 30 states that provide health insurance for residents who cannot get conventional health coverage because of their health status.
http://www.hhs.gov/news/press
MD's Urged to End Prostate Screening in Elderly Men
Task Force says men age 75 and older should not be screened for prostate cancer and that younger men should discuss the benefits and harms of the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test with their clinicians before being tested.
http://www.ahrq.gov/news/press
Cancer News From the Field
NCI Grantee Spotlights
Two Policy Successes in Pennsylvania Impacting Health Disparities
On July 9, 2008, legislation passed to increase coverage for colon cancer screenings in Pennsylvania. September 11, Pennsylvania will also be the next smokefree state. CNP ATECAR community partners were actively involved.
http://action.acscan.org
Maryland Cancer Patient Participation in National Cancer Institute-supported Cancer Treatment Clinical Trials Examined
Results from Dr. Claudia Baquet, CNP principal investigator, and her team highlight disparities in the accrual of Maryland patients with cancer onto NCI-sponsored treatment trials.
http://jco.ascopubs.org
University of North Texas Health Science Center Uses a $337,000 NCI Exploratory Grant
Drs. Katie Cardarelli and Jesse Porter, PI's from the Center for Community Health, supported by a CRCHD sponsored investigator initiated R21 grant, are working with co-investigators to develop a cancer disparities pilot project to address cancer issues in South Dallas.
http://www.centerforcommunityhealth.org/
Adopting America's Bad Habits
"In the first 10 years after immigrating, people gain an average of 12 pounds," said National Spanish radio station, hosted by Dr. Elmer Huerta, a cancer expert at Washington Hospital Center and PI of CNP's Latin American Cancer Research Coalition. Huerta emphasizes a diet eaten at home - rice, lentils, and fruits - to help prevent weight gain among new immigrants.
http://www.washingtonpost.com
Enhancing Practice
Disparities in Prostate Cancer Treatment Suggest Ways to Improve Care
Quality of care varies greatly for treatment of men with early-stage prostate cancer by region of the country and category of health care facility, suggesting the potential for improved patient outcomes with more standard treatment protocols.
http://jco.ascopubs.org
Impact of Socioeconomic Status (SES) on Survival after Cancer in the US
Scientists find that low SES is a risk factor for all-cause mortality after a diagnosis of cancer, largely because of a later stage at diagnosis and less aggressive treatment.
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com
Black-White Differences Again Seen in Prostate Cancer Prognosis
Black men with prostate cancer, compared with their White counterparts, have a poorer prognosis that is not fully explained by co-morbid illness, different PSA screening rates, or access to healthcare.
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/PDFSTART
Effects of an Outreach and Internal Navigation Program on Breast Cancer Diagnosis in an Urban Cancer Center with a Large African-American Population
Community outreach and patient navigation found to improve stage of diagnosis among women in an urban hospital setting consisting of predominantly African American (AA) women (89% AA women).
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/PDFSTART
Characteristics of the Original Patient Navigation Programs to Reduce Disparities in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Breast Cancer
An in-depth descriptive analysis is presented of the original patient navigation programs that combined community and culturally sensitive care-coordination with aspects of disease management programs to reduce racial, ethnic, and poverty-driven disparities in care.
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/PDFSTART
Study of Low-Income Women in Nebraska Suggests Receiving Cancer Screening Services is Related to Race
Scientists examining the likelihood of enrollees in the Nebraska Every Woman Matters Program found receiving cancer screening services was related to race; thus, understanding barriers for screening for minority women is warranted.
http://muse.jhu.edu/journals
Oral Cancer in African Americans: Addressing Health Disparities
Study, examines factors underlying African Americans' perceptions of oral cancer and the oral cancer exam, and points to the need for improved patient education and communication between the public and dental providers.
http://www.atypon-link.com
State Cancer Legislative Database (SCLD) Spring 2008 Update
A number of states, such as Georgia, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wisconsin, adopt new resolutions to acknowledge and enhance awareness of health disparities issues in their states.
http://crchd.cancer.gov/SCLD_Spring08_Update.pdf
Barriers to Cervical Cancer Screening Among Low-Income HIV-Positive African American Women
Study finds psychological and emotional barriers, in addition to the more commonly reported economic, social, and health care system barriers, are important in low-income HIV-positive African American women who have not received cervical cancer screening for five or more years.
http://muse.jhu.edu/journals
Select News Stories
Johns Hopkins Health Disparities Expert Criticizes CNN Report
Promoting unproven theories as a key cause of the enormous health gap between African Americans and other ethnic groups will likely widen the gap further, said Dr. Thomas LaVeist, Director of the Hopkins Center for Health Disparities Solutions at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com
Vitamin C Shows Promise as Cancer Treatment
New research with mice suggests that intravenous doses of vitamin C could one day reduce the size of cancerous tumors in people. http://news.yahoo.com
Mr. James W. West, a Warrior of Cancer
A special tribute to Mr. James (Jim) W. West, a warrior of cancer, who recently received an award from the Gulf Coast Oncology Associates for being an outstanding prostate cancer community advocate. http://www.fightprostatecancer.org
Funding, Training, and Employment Opportunities
Disparities-Related Funding Opportunities
Using Systems Science Methodologies to Protect and Improve Population Health (R21)
Applications sought to apply specific system science methodologies to public health and health care system problems and contribute knowledge that will enhance effective decision making around the development of and prioritization of policies, interventions, and programs. Earliest submission date is September 16.
PAR-08-224
Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Institutional Research Training Grants (T32)
The T32 program supports predoctoral and postdoctoral research training to help ensure that a diverse and highly trained workforce is available to assume leadership roles related to the Nation's biomedical, behavioral and clinical research agenda.
Investigational Nutrigenetic Studies for Cancer Prevention (R21 and R01)
The NCI, the NINR, and the Office of Dietary Supplements solicits applications for research projects that can combine information on individual genetic variations from the Human Genome and International HapMap Projects to stimulate small pilot dietary intervention studies.
Training and Employment Opportunities
Diversity Training Branch (DTB) Health Scientist Administrator Vacancy
CRCHD seeks strong Ph.D. (or equivalent) candidates to serve as project officers to manage complex, multidisciplinary contracts, grants and/or cooperative agreements focused on the research, training and educational needs to promote diversity in cancer research. Vacancy extended until August 29.
http://jobsearch.usajobs.gov
Diversity Research Branch (DRB) Health Scientist Administrator Vacancy
CRCHD seeks strong candidates to serve as project officers to manage complex, multi-disciplinary cooperative agreements in community-based participatory research and translational research aimed at eliminating cancer health disparities. Vacancy extended until August 29.
http://jobsearch.usajobs.gov
Cancer Prevention Fellowship Program (CPFP)
NCI is seeking applications for postdoctoral training in public health and mentored research. Applications accepted through September 1.
For more information, contact: cpfpcoordinator@mail.nih.gov
http://cancer.gov/prevention/pob
Director, East Carolina University, Center for Health Disparities Research (CHDR)
East Carolina University is actively recruiting for a director to provide leadership and oversee the development of comprehensive programs that focus on eliminating health disparities.
https://ecu.peopleadmin.com
Upcoming Meetings and Events
20th Annual Native Health Research Conference
August 25 - 28, 2008
Red Lion Hotel on the River Jantzen Beach
Portland, OR
http://www.npaihb.org
49th Annual Rural Health Conference. The Future of Health Care
September 4-5, 2008
Bryant Conference Center. The University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa, AL
Preferred Registration Deadline: August 8, 2008
Visit the conference website at: http://Rhc.ua.edu
Methodological and Conceptual Issues in Conducting Research on Racial/Ethnic Discrimination in Health Care Delivery
September 29, 2008
Natcher Auditorium, NIH Main Campus
Bethesda, MD
View the event online at:
http://videocast.nih.gov
APHA Annual Meeting: Public Health Without Borders
October 25 - 29, 2008
San Diego Convention Center
San Diego, CA
Registration Deadline: September 22
http://www.apha.org/meetings/
AACE & CPEN Annual Meeting
October 20 - 22, 2008
Sheraton Sand Key Resort
Clearwater, FL
Registration Deadline: September 18
http://aace.cpsonline.info/
DHHS/NIH/NCMHD Sponsored Summit: The Science of Eliminating Health Disparities
December 16-18, 2008
Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center
National Harbor, MD
http://www.blsmeetings.net/2008healthdisparitiessummit
American Association for Cancer Research (AACR): The Science of Cancer Health Disparities
February 3-6, 2009
Carefree Resort and Villas
Carefree, AZ
http://www.aacr.org
Society of Behavioral Medicine's 30th Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions
April 22-25, 2009
Palais des Congres de Montreal
Montreal, Canada
http://www.sbm.org/meeting/2009/