Arizona Cancer Center Announces Formation of Cancer Health Disparities Institute
The center hopes to develop a national model for addressing cancer health disparities among underserved communities.
The National Cancer Institute has awarded researchers at the Arizona Cancer Center a renewable one-year grant of $200,000 to establish a Cancer Health Disparities Institute. The new Institute, which has been formally approved by The University of Arizona president’s office, will form a large, collaborative “umbrella” that will unite Arizona Cancer Center efforts to address cancer disparities. The institute also will link with other programs at the UA and within the state.
“Our Cancer Health Disparities Institute is a first-of-its-kind health disparities institute within a comprehensive cancer center,” says Arizona Cancer Center Director David S. Alberts. “It is emblematic of the Arizona Cancer Center’s strong and sincere dedication to prevent and cure cancer in our larger underserved communities.”
Lack of education in cancer prevention, risk factors and treatment, as well as unequal access to cancer care, is a significant and growing problem in Arizona communities. The objective of the Cancer Health Disparities Institute is to enable the Arizona Cancer Center to establish infrastructure in three core areas of cancer health disparities: research, training and community outreach.
“This funding allows us to develop a national model for addressing cancer health disparities among the underserved communities we serve in Arizona, specifically Hispanics, Native Americans, and our state’s rural residents,” says María Elena Martínez, director of the institute and co-director of the Arizona Cancer Center’s Cancer Prevention and Control Program. “We received this funding because of our commitment to serve these communities through a variety of existing programs, and now we can all become much stronger by pooling our resources and helping each other.”
Louise Canfield, co-director of the Institute and co-principal investigator of the Native American Cancer Research Partnership with Northern Arizona University, is equally excited about this new opportunity. “This grant will allow us to develop common goals and reach across ethnic lines to more effectively serve communities in need of improved access to care,” she said.
The Cancer Health Disparities Institute will provide a variety of services to researchers:
- In-depth information on the communities in which they hope to work, including demographics, assessments of community needs and resources, and evaluations of existing cancer incidence and mortality.
- Skills in working with communities.
- Assistance in obtaining funding.
- Access to collaborations with other researchers and with the public.
- Training in institutional review board procedures.
- Guidance in working with boards and governing agencies.
The Cancer Health Disparities Institute also will work with local clinics, hospitals, health boards and other local organizations to raise awareness of prevention strategies and access to cancer health care for underserved communities.
“The ultimate goal of this project is to save lives that would otherwise be lost to cancer,” Martinez says. “By working together to lower cancer rates and improve survival in our minority and underserved communities, we can make this a reality.”
The Arizona Cancer Center is the state’s premier National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center. With research sites in Tucson, Phoenix, Mesa, Scottsdale and Sun City, the center has 300 world-class physician and scientist members working to prevent and cure cancer.
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- Extra Info |
The Arizona Cancer Center's Behavioral Oncology Seminar Series is welcoming Judith S. Gordon, a senior research scientist at the Oregon Research Institute, who will speak May 28.
Gordon's 9 a.m. talk, "Using Social Marketing to Promote Tobacco Cessation and Prevention," will be held at the Arizona Cancer Center in the Kiewit Auditorium, 1515 N. Campbell Ave.
Gordon will talk about the ways that social marketing seeks to influence social behaviors not to benefit the marketer, but to benefit the target audience and the general society. Gordon will discuss how social marketing techniques can be applied to tobacco cessation interventions and tobacco prevention efforts to promote behavior change and discourage tobacco use.
To learn more, visit the Arizona Cancer Center Web site or call 520-694-2873. - Contact Info
Donna Breckenridge
520-626-2277