Reducing Cancer Disparaties Among Latinos in Texas

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The Texas regional Community Networks Program, Latinos Contra El Cancer, combines innovative research, extensive community outreach, and a multi-faceted training program, all conducted within a community-based participatory research (CBPR) context, to reduce cancer-related health disparities in Latinos, and to build a cadre of competitive health disparities researchers trained in CBPR in three regions of Texas (Houston, El Paso, the Lower Rio Grande Valley). This will be accomplished through the work of three distinct yet complementary cores (Outreach, Research, and Training) to integrate knowledge generation, community health education, and community and researcher capacity building within and across the three sites, building on existing research infrastructures, longstanding relationships, and novel communication systems. The overarching goals of each Core are described below. The goal of the proposed Outreach Program is to increase the use of evidence-based biomedical and behavioral procedures and interventions to reduce the cancer burden among Latinos in Texas. We will build on existing community partnerships, infrastructure, and programs to develop an Outreach Program that will accomplish this goal through capacity building with community partners and direct health promotion in Latino communities. The goal of the Research Core - Intervention Study is to develop and evaluate an innovative intervention approach for reducing cancer risk related to the three leading behavioral risk factors for cancer: smoking, poor diet, and physical inactivity. The project will focus on participants in a longitudinal study of cancer risk factors among Mexican Americans in Houston (Mexican American Cohort Study). The goal of the Research Core - Pilot Study is to utilize quantitative and qualitative methods to investigate the socio-demographic, acculturation, and psychosocial factors that influence Mexican Americans willingness to provide biologic specimens for biobanking. The goal of the mentored Training Program is to prepare a cadre of new and early stage investigators to conduct cancer disparities research in Latino communities, with a particular emphasis on building skills and capacity to conduct community-based participatory research.