Outreach Core

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Cancer is the second leading cause of death among Hispanics in the US.<1) Despite the overall decline in cancer mortality over the last decade, Hispanics continue to experience disparities for certain cancers.(2) Breast and cervical cancer and tobacco-related cancers are among these.*1 i3i4) Although smoking prevalence is lower in Puerto Rico (PR) compared to the US, tobacco exerts a tremendous public health burden, with 11.5% of all deaths and 10% of all health care costs in PR are attributable to smoking.'"1 Among Puerto Rican women living in PR, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed neoplasm (35% of all cancers) and the leading cause of cancer deaths (15% of total).<9) Cervical cancer is the 4th most commonly diagnosed neoplasm in PR women, accounting for 4% of all newly diagnosed cancers, and 2.4% of all cancer-related deaths.'9' The purpose of the Puerto Rico Community Cancer Control Outreach Program (CCCOP) is to modify and sustain health behavior through the development of comprehensive, sustainable partnerships for cancer control outreach, education, research, and training in Puerto Rico (PR). Specifically, the purpose of the CCCOP is to decrease tobacco use, increase vaccination against Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), and increase breast and cervical cancer screening. Program components of the CCCOP will build upon collaborations, infrastructure, network development, and outreach successes achieved in the Outreach Pilot Project. The specific aims of the CCCOP are to: 1. Maintain, strengthen, and further develop a cancer control outreach network that will build upon existing relationships and develop new collaborations among the University of Puerto Rico Comprehensive Cancer Center (UPRCCC), The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC), and key Puerto Rican community and health organizations; 2. Conduct a community assessment of needs and resources for breast and cervical cancer (BCCS) prevention and screening, tobacco control, and the elimination of disparities related to these cancers and behaviors; 3. Develop health care provider and community organization capacity to implement and sustain culturally competent cancer control outreach and education programs to address disparities in breast and cervical cancers and tobacco control; 4. Provide active mentoring and career development opportunities to U54 researchers and community partners to build capacity in cancer control and community-based participatory research; and, 5. Evaluate the impact of the CCCOP on increasing breast and cervical cancer screening, increasing HPV vaccination, and reducing tobacco use in PR. The proposed project provides benefits to both UPRCCC and MDACC as each partner brings unique expertise to the partnership. The CCCOP also includes major career development components to prepare cancer disparities researcher at both UPRCCC and MDACC