April 2, 1999
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) announced that it is accepting applications for projects that create and implement cancer control and prevention programs in minority and underserved communities to address the disparities in cancer rates within certain subgroups of the United States population.
The project is intended to facilitate the relationship between scientific researchers and community leaders. These cooperative relationships between community-based programs and large research institutions will be used to foster cancer awareness activities, support minority enrollment in clinical trials, and encourage minority scientists to participate in research. NCI has earnmarked $30 million over five years to find a diverse group of projects, called Special Populations Networks for Cancer Awareness Research and Training.
"This project is designed to encourage people from the community to work with scientists to find ways of addressing important questions in minority communities, said Otis Brawley, M.D., director of the Office of Special Populations Research at NCI.
In 1989, NCI launched the National Black Leadership Initiative on Cancer, which was followed in 1992 by Hispanic and Appalachian Leadership Initiatives. These initiatives focused on cancer awareness, reducing cancer incidence and mortality, increasing cancer survival, and improving access to health care within minority and medically underserved populations. As these projects draw to a close this year, the Special Population Networks will incorporate the knowledge gained to determine better ways to address the cancer prevention and control needs of minority and underserved populations.
To accomplish this, the new research projects will be carried out in three phases. During the first year (Phase I), community groups will work with government and nongovernment organizations to develop project plans. The groups are encouraged to work with organizations like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Health Care Financing Administration, and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health. These collaborations will produce health promotion activities at the community level.
In the second and third years (Phase II), researchers will focus on establishing partnerships with NCI-designated Cancer Centers, academic institutions, and NCI Clinical Cooperative Groups to enhance minority participation in clinical trials and to improve training opportunities for minority scientists. This second phase is also expected to yield ideas for joint pilot projects within the communities.
NCI is committed to discovering why cancer disproportionately affects special populations, and one way to understand this is to encourage minority participation in clinical trials. As a result of ongoing efforts, nearly 20 percent of the more than 20,000 patients entering treatment clinical trials every year are from an ethnic minority group.
The last two years of the project (Phase III) will be devoted to carrying out pilot projects developed in the second phase, as well as maintaining the infrastructure developed in the first and second phases.
"The communities benefit from the outreach, and scientists benefit from studying the outreach programs," Brawley said.
Investigators applying for grants must have, among other qualifications, a history of working with the community, and may propose large, multisite projects or small-scale projects that target one of more regions. The funding period begins March 1, 2000.
The full text of the Request For Applications is available from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts on the Internet at http://www.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-CA-99-003.html, or by calling the Office of Special Populations Research at (301) 496-8589.
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