The candidate's long-term career goal is to understand how primary medical care impacts cancer outcomes and to develop interventions that will improve primary medical care in this regard. Primary medical care is important in helping to decrease cancer incidence and mortality and to understand the causes of health disparities in cancer stage and survival. UMDNJ- New Jersey Medical School, located in Newark, New Jersey is surrounded by a community affected by heavier burdens of cancer incidence, late stage cancer at diagnosis, and cancer mortality. The adjacent counties surrounding the school contain 27.3 % of New Jersey's total population, but 52.4% of its African-American population and 49.7% of the state's Hispanic population. This population is ideal for studying the causes of late stage cancer diagnosis and racial disparities in cancer stage and survival. In collaboration with the Cancer Institute of New Jersey, the institution is developing, as a top priority, research and clinical programs to address deficits in cancer care in northern New Jersey and major health disparities evident in Newark and its environs. The PI's career objectives of this proposal are to increase quantitative skills in data analysis, to refine skills in survey research, to learn qualitative research methods, and to learn how to integrate culture, language, and literacy into cancer control interventions. The research career development plan includes: completion of a Masters in Public Health degree program, the NCI's """"""""Principles and Practice of Cancer Prevention and Control Course,"""""""" a review course on SAS statistical software, a training course on SUDAAN Statistical Software, completion of the Cancer, Culture, and Literacy Institute, various other cancer and research forums, and the conduct of mentored multi-method research. This multi-method research project will focus on breast and cervical cancer screening in an at risk subpopulation: obese women. Obese women are more likely than nonobese women to be delayed in breast and cervical cancer screening. Since African-American and Hispanic women are disproportionately obese compared to other races, this study may impact racial disparities in cancer. First, new analyses will be conducted using data from the National Health Interview Survey to quantify the extent of the association of obesity to delayed cancer screening, and the impact of race/ethnicity and comorbidity on this association. Next, focus groups will be conducted with obese women to identify their barriers to cancer screening. In addition, in-depth interviews and a mail survey will be administered to physicians to identify their barriers to cancer screening in obese women and to elicit suggestions to overcome those barriers. Finally, an interventional plan and materials will be developed that are appropriate for a multicultural target group and evaluated for appropriateness, readability, and feasibility through focus groups of patients and physicians.
| Chugh, Monica; Friedman, Asia M; Clemow, Lynn P et al. (2013) Women weigh in: obese African American and White women's perspectives on physicians' roles in weight management. J Am Board Fam Med 26:421-8 |
| Poustchi, Yasmin; Saks, Norma S; Piasecki, Alicja K et al. (2013) Brief intervention effective in reducing weight bias in medical students. Fam Med 45:345-8 |
| Friedman, Asia M; Hemler, Jennifer R; Rossetti, Elisa et al. (2012) Obese women's barriers to mammography and pap smear: the possible role of personality. Obesity (Silver Spring) 20:1611-7 |
| Ferrante, Jeanne M; Wu, Justine; Dicicco-Bloom, Barbara (2011) Strategies used and challenges faced by a breast cancer patient navigator in an urban underserved community. J Natl Med Assoc 103:729-34 |
| Ferrante, Jeanne M; Fyffe, Denise C; Vega, Marielos L et al. (2010) Family physicians' barriers to cancer screening in extremely obese patients. Obesity (Silver Spring) 18:1153-9 |
| Ferrante, Jeanne M; Balasubramanian, Bijal A; Hudson, Shawna V et al. (2010) Principles of the patient-centered medical home and preventive services delivery. Ann Fam Med 8:108-16 |
| Ferrante, Jeanne M; Piasecki, Alicja K; Ohman-Strickland, Pamela A et al. (2009) Family physicians' practices and attitudes regarding care of extremely obese patients. Obesity (Silver Spring) 17:1710-6 |
| Ferrante, Jeanne M; Chen, Ping-Hsin; Crabtree, Benjamin F et al. (2007) Cancer screening in women: body mass index and adherence to physician recommendations. Am J Prev Med 32:525-31 |
