OVERALL The Pacific Island Partnership for Cancer Health Equity (PIPCHE) is a 17-year collaboration between the University of Guam (UOG) and the University of Hawai?i Cancer Center (UHCC) that continues to advance cancer health equity, increase the cancer research and education capacity, and decrease significant cancer disparities in Pacific Islands Populations. Americans of Pacific Islander ancestry are a highly underserved and vulnerable minority with a disparate cancer burden, including significant underrepresentation among cancer and biomedical researchers and healthcare providers, which further exacerbates the disparities. The overarching goal and long-term objective are to promote cancer health equity and mitigate the impact of cancer on Pacific Island Populations through increasing cancer research leadership and capacity in Hawai?i, Guam and the United States Affiliated Pacific Islands, which comprise the Pacific Island Populations addressed by this project. As the only National Cancer Institute-funded Partnership serving the underrepresented Pacific Island region, PIPCHE will accomplish its goals through the following specific aims: (1) Continue to develop a diverse portfolio of Pacific Island Population-focused cancer research projects that include clinical, basic, and population health sciences, (2) Collaborate with local and regional Pacific Island community organizations that work with underrepresented Pacific Island Populations to promote cancer health equity and enhance opportunities for research training and workforce development, (3) Sustain, strengthen, and continuously evaluate of all the Partnership?s research, core activities, and research education programs, (4) Enhance and implement evidence-based, relevant, cancer-related public health interventions and cancer, prevention and control strategies with and within underrepresented communities, and (5) Expand the scientific collaboration among PIPCHE members and other faculty within the two institutions, with an emphasis on recruiting Early Stage Investigators of Pacific Island ancestry. PIPCHE will carry out these aims by continued investment in four Cores (Cancer Outreach, Research Education, Planning and Evaluation, and Administration), which provide the infrastructure and governance of the Partnership. The proposed Shared Resources (Biostatistics, Epidemiology, Information Technology, and Cancer Registry) will provide essential technical and scientific support to the PIPCHE student scholars, trainees, and the proposed full research projects and pilot projects that specifically address the cancer disparities of the Pacific Island Populations. Using its arc of cancer equity, PIPCHE has identified 10 major domains (education/health literacy, policy, environment, lifestyle, culture/community, biology, treatment, healthcare access, psycho-social, and socio-economic status) that influence Pacific Islander cancer health disparities/equity. Each of the research projects, cores, and infrastructure affects one or more of the domains, and therefore knowledge about the action of PIPCHE?s work is value added and helpful, as individuals as a team, while working towards Pacific cancer health equity.
OVERALL The Pacific Island Partnership for Cancer Health Equity (PIPCHE) represents the next step in augmenting a Hawai?i-Guam-USAPI cancer research infrastructure by investing in Pacific Island Populations leaders, Early Stage Investigators, community partners, and community-informed disparities research. As a result of the 17- year commitment, PIPCHE is also well positioned to increase the diversity of the biomedical cancer science workforce and research leadership that better reflects the Hawai?i-Guam-USAPI larger racial/ethnic representation and to stimulate new areas of disparities and translational research. PIPCHE has assembled dedicated academic and community partnerships needed to synergistically accelerate disparities research into a sustainable forum that pursues cultural and environmental appropriate solutions.
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