In response to RFA-CA-99-003, the senior investigators of this application will form a """"""""multiple site"""""""" special populations network for cancer control (SPNCC), consisting of the National Medical Association (NMA), the premiere medical society for African American physicians in this country, the Auxiliary to the NMA, and a core group of expert faculty drawn from major universities and cancer research centers nationwide. The SPNCC will initially target Region 2 of the NMA (Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia), with the long-range goal of institutionalizing SPNCC programs within the NMA as a whole. Through a process of collective decision- making, the SPNCC will design, implement and evaluate up to four pilot study interventions and submit up to four full-scale R0I research projects, with a specific focus on physician-based interventions, minority cancer patient accrual to clinical trials, and community outreach to promote cancer awareness and behavior change. To prepare the NMA/ANMA regional leadership for these research and programmatic initiatives, a well-characterized education and training program will be conducted in Years 01 and 02 utilizing seminars and workshops, combined with local presentations made by SPNCC Steering Committee members to their colleagues in Region 2. This education and training program for Steering Committee members will qualify for CME credit via the NMA. To support the research and programmatic agenda of the SPNCC, four shared resources will be established, all of which will be located at the AMC Cancer Research Center: Protocol Development Office, Health Communications, Survey Research and Biostatistics.
