This application seeks funding for a multidisciplinary symposium, """"""""Cancer in the SocioeconomicaUy Disadvantaged: Models for Intervention.' Many factors contribute to the excessive incidence and mortality of cancer in minorities and in the poor. This problem is particularly acute in the Baltimore-Washington area which has the highest cancer mortality rate in the country. A major contributor to this high mortality rate is the existence of a large indigent population which does not have adequate access to the medical establishment. The symposium has two main goals: education and intervention. Both goals will be well served by the multidisciplinary nature of the symposium; in addition to the University of Maryland Cancer Center and Howard University, the University of Maryland Nursing School and School of Social Work are well represented on the organizing committee. In addition, the target audience will consist of social workers, educators and community and church leader's as well as health care professionals. The educational portion of the conference will address several points. First, the factors which contribute to the high cancer mortality in minorities and practical approaches to reducing risk factors will be emphasized. Second, the importance of early detection and the role of the patient and primary care giver in this capacity will be stressed. Third, specific workshops will address recent advances in the treatment of a variety of malignancies and in supportive care. The purpose of these sessions is not only to inform physicians but to make other members of the health care team and lay participants aware of the variety of options available to cancer patients. The other major component of this symposium will be the presentation of four working models of prevention and early detection programs. Participants will then have the opportunity to meet in a workshop format with the individuals responsible for establishing such programs in Harlem,Newark, D.C. and Baltimore in order to learn more about the organization and implementation of these programs and to stimulate further research and development of intervention strategies.
