The University of Maryland Eastern Shore, with the assistance of the National Cancer Institute, seeks to establish five regional centers for the National Black Leadership Initiative on Cancer (NBLIC). These centers would address cancer prevention and control programs and provide community outreach activities for more than 8,000,000 rural African Americans. The overall objectives are to reduce cancer incidence and mortality rates, and to increase survival rates through risk behavior interventions and improved screening by 1995, in order to meet the year-2000 target. Objective 1: To reduce the rise in cancer deaths to achieve a rate of no more than 173 per 100,000 for black males and 130.5 for black females (1989--M 288, F 132 and Year-2000--M 130, F 130);
Aim : To establish regional centers and a multicultural national advisory board to assist in fund raising activities. Objective 2: To develop a national awareness survey to gather quantitative data for baseline 1992-3, about blacks' knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to cancer and cancer risks;
Aim : To compare the results of this survey with other data bases on health care such as the National Vital Statistics System, National Health Interview, and SEER, and to conduct a follow-up. Objective 3: To conduct a national historical prospective study (1993-95) of mortality and survival rates for lung, breast, uterine cervix, and colorectal cancers;
Aim : To compare the effectiveness of NBLIC's community outreach activities, cancer prevention and control programs, with general intervention activities for the control group. The main endpoints are lung cancer death reduction by smoking and alcohol reduction; breast cancer death reduction by fat decrease, fiber increase, exercise, and screening; uterine cervix death reduction by Pap test; colorectal death reduction by fecal occult blood testing.
