Contact:

Ann O'Mara, Ph.D., M.P.H., R.N.
Community Oncology and Prevention Trials Research Group
Division of Cancer Prevention, NCI
Telephone: (301) 496-8541
E-mail: omaraa@mail.nih.gov

Objectives of Project:

The purpose of this initiative is to stimulate the research community to conduct studies on reducing or overcoming barriers to the delivery of appropriate symptom management and palliative care to patients suffering from disease and/or treatment related sequelae. Historically, the cancer symptom management research community has focused largely on describing symptom prevalence and testing new interventions to ameliorate one or more symptoms. Many of these studies have shown efficacy, yet, because of a number of patient-related, clinician-related, and health system-related barriers, the larger cancer community is not adopting these findings. We must expand and accelerate our potential to address the problems of inadequate symptom management and palliative care among diverse populations in the U.S. Given NCI's challenge goal of eliminating the suffering and death due to cancer by 2015, efforts must be directed to improving the delivery of treatments to prevent or ameliorate the adverse physical and psychosocial consequences associated with the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

Description of Project:

The goals of this research initiative are to develop and test interventions to overcome barriers to the delivery of symptom management and palliative care, thereby decreasing the suffering and improving the health and quality of life of persons living with cancer. The focus of this initiative is quite broad and includes cancer patients across the disease trajectory. Settings where interventions could be tested include, but are not limited to, acute care facilities the home, skilled nursing facilities, outpatient clinics, and hospice.

The proposed interventions should build on current knowledge and research findings that indicate appropriate symptom management and palliative care approaches for patients experiencing one or more physical and/or psychosocial problems related to the disease or its treatment. While the target of the intervention can be caregivers or clinicians, the endpoints must be patient-centered. The proposed project is not to be structured as a clinical trial of agent or behavioral efficacy, or as a comparison of the acceptability or effectiveness of competitive drug delivery techniques. Because the nature and scope of the research proposed in response to this initiative may vary, both the R01 and R21 mechanisms will be used.