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The Arkansas Cancer Connection Program is a community-academic partnership between the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and nine community-based coalitions designed to address cancer health disparities through community-based participatory research. In 2005, a survey measuring coalition capacity was administered to 51 Cancer Council members to assess training needs and increase coalition capacity. The highest scoring components were leadership and member engagement while the lowest were development and capacity effectiveness. Effectiveness correlated with aspects of coalition capacity. The evaluation identified training needs, which were met by projects leveraging the coalition's strengths to advance community-based participatory research addressing cancer disparities.

Colorectal cancer incidence and mortality rates in Arkansas exceed national averages and can be reduced through systematic screening that either identifies precursor lesions that can be removed before cancer develops, or diagnoses cancer at an early stage when it is most responsive to treatment. Results of a survey assessing screening status of Arkansas residents and dimensions of health care supporting colorectal screening indicate that primary care providers can play an important role in efforts to decrease the burden of colorectal cancer by informing patients about risk factors and providing advice about the full range of screening options.

As similar cancer health disparities have been documented for African American (AA) women and Latinas, it would be important to determine whether comparable interventions could be used to increase screening among these 2 culturally different populations. This paper reports research findings comparing cultural dimensions of breast and cervical cancer as they impact Latino and AA social networks and explore the feasibility of creating outreach models that may serve both groups. An existing intervention that integrates the social roles and relationships of AA women, The Witness Project(R), is used as a framework for tailoring an intervention for Latino communities. Findings and data from focus groups and key informant interviews were collected from more than 120 Latinos in Arkansas and New York City. These findings are analyzed using the Pen-3 Model, categorized, and compared with previous social role and network information from AA women as reflected in the Witness Project(R) intervention model. The findings from this study demonstrated variations between AA women and Latinas with regard to roles and gender relationships while demonstrating similarities with regard to spiritual beliefs and attitudes toward cancer. We applied our results to culturally tailor and develop a breast and cervical cancer intervention, Esperanza y Vidatrade mark (Hope and Life), that incorporates Latino values and social relationships. This study demonstrates that a proven education and outreach model for AA women may provide a framework for creating a culturally appropriate intervention for Latinas. Further research is needed to study the efficacy of the new model. Cancer 2007. (c) 2006 American Cancer Society.

The origin of cancer health disparities and mortality in Arkansas is multifactorial. In response to a cooperative agreement with the National Cancer Institute's Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities, the Arkansas Special Populations Access Network (ASPAN) was developed to reduce these disparities. ASPAN's partnership with local primary care physicians of the Arkansas Medical, Dental, and Pharmaceutical Association through the Cancer Education Awareness Program is the focus of this article. A quasi-experimental intervention, the Community Cancer Education Awareness Program, was employed that included 1) physician education to increase awareness of risk factors and cancer screening; and 2) patient education to increase screening, and 3) patient-generated screening questionnaires to prompt discussion of cancer risk and screening recommendations between patients and physicians. Two urban and 2 rural clinics were targeted during a 12-month period with interval intervention assessments. Baseline review of records (n = 200) from patients >/=40 were utilized to assess the rate of breast, prostate, and colorectal screenings among clinics. For the patient education intervention, patients (n = 120) were interviewed via a 34-item assessment. Physician awareness of cancer risk factors and screening recommendations significantly increased. Statistically significant increases were seen for prostate (P = .028), breast (P = .036), and colorectal (P < .001) cancer screening across all 4 clinics. Patients' increased likelihood of cancer screenings was associated with knowledge about consumption of animal fat (P < .001), dietary fiber (P < .013), and mammograms (P < .001). Utilizing the physician as the central change agent, the ASPAN provider network successfully enhanced cancer screening awareness of minority physicians and their patients. Cancer 2006. (c) 2006 American Cancer Society.