Weaving an Islander Network for Cancer Awareness, Research and Training (WINCART): The overarching goal of the proposed Center is to contribute to the reduction of cancer health disparities among Pacific Islanders (PIs) in Southern California through an integrated program of research, training, and community education utilizing a multi-level, interdisciplinary, approach that is driven by community based participatory research (CBPR) principles. Building upon the successes of our first Community Network Program (CNP) WINCART: Weaving an Islander Network for Cancer Awareness, Research and Training (U01CA114591/WINCART1), this new Center's programs and cores incorporate the themes of reducing chronic disease mortality and morbidity through lifestyle change (Research Program;Intervention Project), exploring cultural and ethical issues around biobanking to enhance the promise of personalized medicine (Research Program: Pilot Project), increasing prevention and early detection through assessment and community education (Community Outreach Program), and training of early career investigators in CBPR methods (Training Program). Experienced community leaders and researchers will facilitate integration across all Center components (Administrative Core). The overarching CBPR principles and processes in WINCART2 derive from those established in WINCART1, and include: 1) shared participation by both community and academic researchers in the planning, development, implementation and evaluation of community education, research, and training activities;2) co-learning between all academic and community partners via joint activities in the Center's core, programs, and projects;3) collaboration mechanisms, through the Center Steering Committee and Community Advisory Groups, that ensure fidelity to CBPR tenets among center partners and trainees;and 4) promotion of lasting community benefits across multiple levels of factors associated with PI cancer health disparities. WINCART2 incorporates the multilevel population health approach to address cancer health disparities, and employs new technologies (including distance learning, electronic surveys and intervention systems) for communication within the Center, dissemination to external audiences, and/aci7ztarion of state-of-the-science research, all in the service of reducing cancer health disparities among PIs.
Cancer health disparities remain significant among Pacific Islanders in the United States. The proposed center aims to understand and address the multilevel factors associated with prevention, early detection, and personalized care through CBPR principles and processes involving collaborations between 7 community based organizations and 2 universities. Understanding how to apply CBPR to increase the use of beneficial biomedical and behavioral procedures is essential to ameliorating enduring cancer health disparities in Pis.
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