) Cancer is considered to be one of the most devastating diseases in the African American community.
The aim of this initiative is to conduct a cancer control outreach program implemented through the development and support of community coalitions in the African American community. The program is designed to facilitate the process of closing the racial gap in cancer incidence and mortality and increasing survival by developing knowledge, understanding, and positive practices among African Americans by 1999. The foci of the project will be: respiratory system (lung) cancer, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, and female genital (cervical) cancer. This national initiative will target 98% of the African American population of 42 states and the District of Columbia, with a special effort to reach African Americans in specific rural areas. The proposed national program will consist of multiple components: 1) coalition building through identification and recruitment of new organizations and new local leaders; 2) strengthening the capacity of existing coalitions through leadership training, small grant opportunities, dissemination of project findings and centralized database management; 3) promotion of the long-term sustainability of coalitions through regional training, formalization of coalition structure and identification of long-term funding prospects; 4) changing knowledge levels, attitudes and behaviors with regard to cancer through the standardization of health education content; and 5) monitoring the effectiveness and impact of the project throughout all phases through comprehensive process and outcome evaluation using qualitative and quantitative measures.
