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Grant To Wash U Designed To Fight Cancer |
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By DANAH BROWNE
St. Louis Argus Contributor
Washington University has received an $8.6 million grant that researchers will use to explore how improved information and referral systems will help eliminate disparities in the minority population in getting diagnosed and treated early for cancer.
African-American women who are diagnosed with breast cancer tend to be diagnosed with more advanced-stage disease, and deaths from breast cancer are higher among African-American women compared with Caucasian women, according to the National Cancer Institute.
These disparities exists because of minorities failure to in adhere to follow-up care, patterns of patient/provider communication and availability of emotional support, researchers at Washingoonn university have determined.
With the grant money, members of the HDRL team will be able to test communication strategies to enhance prevention and early detection treatment of cancer in low-income populations, officials with Washinton University said.
The grant will fund three studies. The first study will include 3,564 participants statewide who will receive referrals to free cancer prevention and screening services available close to their homes. Some will receive help from a personal assistant or individualized health information to act on the referral.
The second study will evaluate a news service that distributes localized cancer information to minority-serving newspapers, officials at Wshington University said.
The third study, involving 220 African-American women being treated for breast cancer at the Siteman Cancer Center, seeks to improve treatment adherence by providing them with a touch-screen computer system, Living Proof, that contains hundreds of videotaped stories from local African-American women who are survivors of breast cancer.
The stories share survivors’ strategies for coping with a cancer diagnosis and treatment, dealing with personal and professional relationships, having a positive experience in the health-care system and assuring follow-up care.
The grant, from the National Cancer Institute, was awarded to the Health Communications
Research Laboratory at Washington University’s Brown School of Social Work. HCRL is one of only five Centers of Excellence in cancer research.
“We know a lot about how to prevent cancer or detect it early, and many of these services are available for free to those with low income or no insurance,” says Matthew W. Kreuter, Ph.D., principal investigator of the grant and director of the HCRL. “But we need to do a much better job connecting people to these services.”
Kreuter also is a professor at the Brown School and holds an appointment at the School of Medicine. Additionally, he is a scholar at Washington University’s Institute for Public Health.
Kreuter says these studies are unique because of their scale and their integration into existing state and national systems that serve disadvantaged populations.
“We want to assure that the great progress science has made in finding and fighting cancer benefits all people,” Kreuter says. “If these strategies are effective, they can be applied all over the United States.”
Washington University will explore how improved information and referral systems can help eliminate these disparities. The HCRL is one of only five Communication Research centers nationwide.
All of the research will be done in real world settings with local partners, Washington University officials said.
The United Way of Greater St. Louis, Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services and Missouri Foundation for Health are all places where researchers will work.
Research will also be done with the American Cancer Society to evaluate effects of a national cancer news service for minority-serving media, officials at Washington University said.
The American Cancer Society will select these newspapers through its divisions in 14 states that are home to 55 percent of the U.S. African-American population.
In a previous HCRL study involving newspapers primarily serving African-Americans in 24 U.S. cities, the news service, called Ozioma, significantly increased the amount and quality of cancer coverage and increased readers talking about cancer, seeking information about cancer and increasing cancer prevention behaviour, Washington University officials said. |
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Education Notes
Burroughs Receives Apple For The Teacher Award
Gena Burroughs, coordinator of Student Access and Achievement Services at St. Louis Community College-Florissant Valley, received the 2008 Apple for the Teacher Award from Iota Phi Lambda Sorority Inc.
“Receiving this award is both an honor and a surprise,” said Burroughs. “It is wonderful to be recognized for my passion which is to help better the lives of our students.”
This award is given to outstanding educators in the metropolitan St. Louis area during American Education Week. The award will be presented at a luncheon at the St. Louis Airport Marriott Hotel on Saturday, Nov. 22.
The theme of the NEA luncheon will be St. Louis Public Schools: Basic Right and Our Responsibility
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Ranken Technical College Fall Career Fair Nov. 6th
Ranken Technical College will hold its fall career fair on Thursday, November 6th from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The College expects more than 150 employers and 1500 students and alumni to participate in the event.
Participating local companies include Anheuser-Busch, Ameren Corporation, ConocoPhillips, Laclede Gas and Boeing.
In addition to the many Missouri companies that will attend, there will be recruiters attending from Chicago, Ill., Houston, Texas and Springfield, Ohio companies.
Ranken President Ben Ernst said “Ranken Technical College refuses to participate in today’s recessionary times. 98 percent of our graduates find positions in their chosen technical fields within six months of graduation.
In fact, we are averaging five job opportunities per graduate. This event helps create job opportunities for students and alumni. These events are proven winners!”
The bi-annual career fair events have been held on Ranken’s campus for the past 15 years and attract a steadily-increasing number of potential employers.
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RAC Selects 18 Artistic Fellows For Social Change
The Regional Arts Commission (RAC), the area’s largest annual funder of the arts dedicated to the cultivation, promotion and fostering of cultural programming in the St. Louis area, announced the names of local artists, educators and community/social service providers who have been awarded fellowships from the renowned Community Arts Training (CAT) Institute.
The CAT Institute is directed by Roseann Weiss, Director of Community Art Programs & Public Art Initiatives for the Regional Arts Commission. Lead faculty of the CAT Institute is Jane Ellen Ibur, poet, writer, teacher and community artist.
Weiss explained: “It’s a wonderful, diverse group who will participate in using the arts as a means for social change. They will have the opportunity to learn how to create community-based arts programs in non-traditional settings, making a significant impact on people’s lives through artistic expression.”
The CAT Institute fellows are selected through a nomination, application and interview process. Participants gain more than 55 hours of training at the end of five months with a curriculum that covers a variety of topics related to the arts and the community.
To further initiate partnerships between artistic groups and the community, RAC has launched a new CAT Institute directory on the RAC website, www.art-stl.com
Anyone can use the directory as a tool to contact CAT Institute alumni without personal contact information being revealed. CAT Institute participants may log into the website and use the directory as a social-networking site with greater access to information. Currently, there are 155 graduates of the CAT Institute living, working, creating and collaborating within the St. Louis area.
2008/2009 Community Arts Training (CAT) Institute Fellows:
• Aaron Burnett, organizer with Missouri Jobs with Justice
• Keith Buchholz, visual artist: arts educator
• Beth Drouant, applied behavioral analysis therapist; Growing American Youth
Advisor, visual artist
• Dorlene Dunne, outreach specialist for Community Alternatives, Inc; visual artist
• Howard Gaines, visual artist
• Emily Hemeyer, visual/craft/sound installation artist; arts educator
• Erica Hinton, training coordinator for Grace Hill Settlement House Head Start
• Liz Hoester, social research analyst for Vision for Children at Risk
• Aparna Kalyanaraman, dancer; arts educator
• Asma Kazmi, sculpture/video artist
• Jessica Laney, performing artist; Community Relations Coordinator for Cultural Festivals
• George Sample III, rap artist; youth mentor
• Katrina Shannon, photographer; arts educator
• Emily Task, program director for Diversity Awareness Partnership
• Joshua Walehwa, associate director for Residential Life at Washington University
• Stefani Weeden-Smith, art therapist
• Ben West, Community Arts & Media Project (CAMP) collective board member; design staff for pplDevices
• Keith Westbrook, visual artist; SLPS arts educator
About the Community Arts Training Institute
Since 1997, the CAT Institute has facilitated an innovative program centered on the belief that art can be an agent of social change.
The CAT Institute is designed to provide professional level, comprehensive training programs for artists, social service providers and community activists working in community settings, such as neighborhood organizations, social service agencies and after-school programs.
On every level, the Institute allows participants to confront and grapple with unique issues in program planning and adaptability, partnership development, hands-on projects, teaching and situational strategies, and assessment tools. To date, there are about 155 graduates of the CAT Institute working in the community, many on new initiatives developed during their fellowship.
Through active learning, and a mentor-based curriculum, the CAT Institute equips fellows to use the arts to positively affect the community.
RAC’s four-story facility including the area’s first Cultural Resource Center is located at 6128 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, Mo., 63112 in the exciting new stretch of The Loop neighborhood. Contact the organization by calling (314) 863-5811 or by visiting www.art-stl.com
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