CPHHD Background

Health disparities represent a significant public health problem in the United States. Inequities in screening, incidence, treatment, prognosis, and mortality are hallmarks of many common diseases, including cancer and cardiovascular diseases. These disparities exist across groups defined by race, ethnicity, gender, age, and socioeconomic status. The greater disparity in mortality relative to the disparity in incidence suggests that factors related to biology, behavior, social circumstances, access to care, and other post-diagnosis factors influence clinical outcomes. Elimination of health inequities in outcomes, therefore, requires a multifaceted, transdisciplinary approach capable of accounting for the many complex interrelated factors that can affect the development and progression of disease.

There have been some important strides made in understanding the relationship between human biology and its interaction with behavioral and social factors in the development, detection, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer. The mapping of the human genome provided an important platform for addressing the causes of disparities in individuals and populations.

View the current CPHHD RFA.