This proposal for a Mentored Career Award for Underrepresented Minorities describes a plan for my professional development towards a career in the study of risk factors and the design, implementation, and evaluation of interventions for cancer prevention in racial and ethnic minorities. It describes a course of development, mentored training opportunities, and a research project. The purpose of the research plan is to develop and test a method that will identify elderly African American women in Texas Public Health Region 6/5-South who are at the greatest risk for late-stage breast cancer diagnosis. This study will use geographic information systems (GIS) to show the relationship between women who do not receive mammograms and women who are diagnosed with breast cancer in its later stages when treatment is not as successful. Through the innovative use of GIS technology, we will target these at-risk women at the zipcode level to deliver information and programs that are culturally acceptable to them through a community-based approach.
The specific aims are: 1.) Determine mammography utilization among Medicare beneficiaries in Texas Public Health Region 6/5 South and its association between stage of breast cancer diagnosis. 2) Analyze the relationship between the location of FDA-approved mammography facilities and mammography utilization. 3) Conduct an accessibility analysis of the mammography facilities. 4) Analyze the relationship between mammography and the socio-economic and environmental characteristics in low mammography utilization areas and high mammography utilization areas. And, 5) Conduct a pilot survey assessment to determine the appropriate data collection strategy in this population. The results generated by this research will be used to develop an R01 proposal for an intervention project that will be designed to increase mammography use in elderly African American women who may be at increased risk of late-stage breast cancer.
| Collie-Akers, Vicki L; Warrick, Cynthia; Zhu, Li et al. (2012) Assessment of characteristics of capacity among breast cancer screening facilities. J Community Health 37:626-31 |
