This pilot proposal represents collaboration between the Pacific Islander communities of WINCART: Weaving an slander Network for Cancer Awareness, Research and Training in Southern California and the University of Michigan to develop and implement analysis of epidemiological data on Pacific Islanders, and to disseminate the results to the different Pacific Islander communities in the selected study areas. The study has two inter-related primary aims.
The first aim comprises the major research activity for the proposal, and therefore the majority of the application will focus on the rationale and methods for this component of the project.
The second aim will address the need for disaggregated information on cancer for Pacific Islanders and develop a plan to disseminate the project findings to Pacific Islander communities. The proposed study provides a valuable opportunity to understand the distribution of cancer as well as the degree to which cancer patterns differ or are similar across Pacific Islander subpopulations, gender and geography. Traditionally, Pacific Islanders have been aggregated in the Asian/Pacific Islander (API) category. This strategy of grouping APIs creates ongoing measurement problems due to the high level of heterogeneity within this category (Yu & Liu, 1992; Chu, 1998; Shinagawa et al, 1999; House & Williams 2000; Srinivasan & Guillermo, 2000). However, the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) registry derived for the proposed study overcomes these data limitations and provides analysis of disaggregated data on the different Pacific Islander subgroups. The proposed study comes at an important time. The WINCART: Weaving an Islander Network for Cancer Awareness, Research and Training project is specially designed to reduce disparities in the incidence of cancer and increase community-based education and training of cancer control needs among Pacific Islanders in Southern California. The proposed study also provides a unique opportunity to increase our understanding of the unmet health needs of this medically underserved population and contribute to the goals outlined in the vision for the Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities (CRCHD).
The specific aims of the project are:
Aim 1 : To describe the state of cancer for Pacific Islanders living in California. Specifically we will calculate projections for the population selected for the study, estimate cancer incidence levels, examine the distribution of cancer risk, and compare cancer incidence levels across the different Pacific Islander subgroups.
Aim 2 : To actively collaborate with Pacific Islanders in the WINCART communities in order to increase cancer awareness and education. Specifically the co-investigator will travel to California and to discuss the findings from Aim 1 with Pacific Islander community members and organizations. Feedback from these discussions will help shape potential revisions to the report, aid in the interpretation of study results, and assist in the dissemination of study findings. ? ? ?
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