Asian Americans represent the fastest growing ethnic group in the US. In PA and NJ, the increase was 75 percent, comprising nearly 12 percent of PA's and more than 8 percent of NJ's populations. In NY, Asians comprise 6.2 percent of the state's population. A large subset of this multicultural population is poorly educated, medically uninsured and severely underserved. As a group, Asians suffer inordinately high rates of cervical, breast, stomach, prostate, colorectal and hepatitis-B-related liver cancers. While high rates of smoking contribute substantially to elevated rates of lung, esophageal and laryngeal cancers among males, the pervasiveness of secondhand smoke in Asian homes contributes significantly to high rates of these cancers among nonsmoker family members who share the same dwelling. Specifically, both Asian American men and women have higher incidence and mortality rates of liver cancer than other ethnic groups in the U.S. Lung cancer remains a leading cause of death for Asian males and females and is highest among Vietnamese. Mortality rates for breast cancer are high among Chinese women. Vietnamese women have the highest rates of cervical cancer among ethnic groups in the US. The cancer health disparity gap between Asians and mainstream populations is well documented, requiring a robust and vigorous intervention to ameliorate. This proposal addresses four major ethnic groups residing in the eastern region of the US: Chinese, Koreans, Vietnamese and Cambodians, of whom more than 60 percent are recent immigrants. The proposal goals and objectives are based on 5-years of ATECAR-SPN experience with Asian communities in this region and are supported by an elaborate system of experienced community-based partners, academic and research institutions and facilities, bilingual and multi-ethnic professional researchers and trainers and an extensive record of research publications on a range of cancer health disparity issues. The primary goal of the proposed project is to establish a wider ATECAR Community Network (CN) and will work collaboratively to reduce cancer health disparities through innovative education, research and training strategies. To accomplish this goal, we will undertake three aims in three phases.
Under Aim I, we plan to maintain and increase capacity building to support community-based participatory education, research, and training to reduce cancer health disparities in the Asian American populations (5 major objectives and 11 sub-objectives are proposed);
Aim II, develop and implement community-based participatory research and training programs to reduce cancer health disparities in Asian American populations (3 major objectives and 11 sub-objectives are proposed);
and Aim III, establish credibility and sustainability of ATECAR CN programs that reduce cancer health disparities (3 major objectives and 2 sub-objectives are proposed)
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