? BIOSTATISTICS AND EVALUATION CORE (BEC) The primary objective of the Biostatistics and Evaluation Core (BEC) is to provide the project investigators with a centralized resource for comprehensive statistical services as well as cost effectiveness analysis and program evaluation. To achieve this goal, the Core will collaborate with project investigators throughout the proposed Program Project to design the proposed studies, perform data analysis, and evaluate each project and the overall program project. The Core consists of statisticians with an extensive track record in health disparities research and behavioral intervention studies, a health services researcher with expertise in cost effectiveness analysis, and a nationally recognized cancer prevention researcher with expertise in evaluating health behavior interventions. The members of this Core have built strong collaborative relationships with one another and with project investigators, having worked together on previous grants and publications. The Core will leverage their expertise and relationships with investigators to conduct the following specific aims: a) collaborate with the project investigators in the formulation of hypotheses and the design of experimental studies; b) conduct the analysis of data generated by the project investigators including summary statistics, hypothesis testing of the primary outcome data, and sensitivity and exploratory analyses leading to hypothesis discovery; c) conduct cost effectiveness analyses of each component of the intervention program and the overall program; and d) build on a foundation of program evaluation established in previous collaborations, and, using the Proctor Model for Implementation Research, track and assess implementation of project plans and core activities, and provide feedback to leadership. The BEC will have extensive interactions with the Survey and Data Collection Core (SDCC) to ensure that the data are collected and distributed in a manner that allows effective analysis of data from the projects. The BEC will also collaborate with the other cores to prepare for Data and Safety Monitoring Board meetings and perform needs assessments of the different health systems. The statistical analyses performed by the Core will also play a crucial role in the dissemination of effective interventions.
? CORE 3 (BEC) The BEC is integral to the proposed Program Project due to its role in statistical design, analysis, and evaluation. This core will assist in advancing our scientific knowledge of HPV prevention strategies through interventions designed to promote HPV vaccination rates, increase HPV self-testing, and decrease smoking rates in Appalachia. These outcomes directly coincide with the NCI stated goals of improving women's health and cancer prevention strategies. This project also has public health relevance by targeting the Appalachian region of the U.S., which has high rates of tobacco use and cervical cancer, in order to decrease cancer incidence, as well as morbidity and mortality, in line with the Health People 2020 objectives.
