Despite the steady overall decline in cancer incidence and mortality rates in the United States, disparities in cancer burdens continue to exist among certain population groups. Such disparities include differences in incidence, prevalence, mortality and burden of cancer and related adverse health conditions, beyond what would be expected under equitable circumstances that exist among specific population groups (which may be characterized by gender, age, race/ethnicity, income, social class, disability, geographic location or sexual orientation) in the US. The American Cancer Society (ACS) is committed to reducing cancer health disparities and has created strategic priorities for eliminating such disparities through research, education, advocacy and service. The ACS has set as a Nationwide Objective the goal of eliminating disparities in cancer burdens by 2015.
Towards this goal, the Extramural Research and Training Grants (EG) Department has made the reduction of cancer health disparities a priority area of focus for the Cancer Control and Prevention Research Program with a call for applications in psychosocial and behavioral research and in health policy and health services research that address cancer health disparities. Within the Cancer Control and Prevention Research Program (one of five research programs in the EG department), meritorious applications focusing on disparity reduction will be funded prior to meritorious applications focusing on other areas in cancer control and prevention research. In order to qualify for the Priority Program, the application must explicitly demonstrate its relevance to cancer disparities and specify how the results of the proposed study can be used to reduce disparities.
Exceptions: The priority on disparity-focused research does not apply to:
* Research focusing on palliative care and symptom management, as the ACS recognizes the need for building a broad body of research in this field.
* Research responding to other current Request for Applications (RFAs) in Cancer Control and Prevention Research, including “Pilot and Exploratory Projects in Palliative Care of Cancer Patients and their Families” and “Improving Outcomes in Cancer Prevention, Early Detection and Treatment.”
* Applications in the four other EG research programs (including basic, preclinical and clinical research.) A focus on the reduction of health disparities in these programs is welcome, but priority funding does not apply to these programs.
* Applications in any of the five EG research programs that have been submitted before to the ACS (i.e., resubmissions.) In the case of a resubmitted application, guidelines that were in effect at the time of original submission apply.
Implications for Your Study/Application: There are three major areas of research (with corresponding Peer Review Committees) within the Cancer Control and Prevention Research Program. Implications for applications submitted to this program are discussed within the context of each:
1. Psychosocial and Behavioral Research: Applications focusing on all areas of psychosocial and behavioral research will be accepted, using one of the four mechanisms (Postdoctoral Fellowship; Mentored Research Scholar Grant; Research Scholar Grant and Clinical Research Professorship) listed below. However, meritorious applications focusing on cancer health disparity reduction will be funded prior to meritorious applications focusing on other areas in psychosocial and behavioral research. In order to qualify for this Priority Program, the application must explicitly demonstrate its relevance to cancer disparities and to specify how the results of the proposed study can be used to reduce disparities. This justification must appear throughout the application, especially in the Technical Abstract, the Background, Specific Aims and Study Design. Applications that focus on the following population groups and/or areas of study are of particular interest, but applications need not be limited to these:
* Studies that focus on reducing disparities in the following population groups: African Americans, Hispanic/Latinos, Asians/Pacific Islanders, Native Americans/Alaskan Natives; Low Income/Rural Poor. Other population groups may also be considered, such as those characterized by gender, age, race/ethnicity, income, social class, disability, geographic location or sexual orientation.
* Studies of interventions designed to reduce measurably cancer health disparities across the cancer continuum, especially in reducing risk; enhancing screening or informed decision making; effective population-specific messaging; improvement in provider-patient relationship; treatment decision-making or treatment compliance; and improvement in quality of life of patients and/or caregivers.
* Community-based participatory research or research conducted in partnership with other groups or organizations.
2. Health Policy and Health Services Research: Applications focusing on all areas of health policy and health services research will be accepted, using one of the four mechanisms (Postdoctoral Fellowship, Mentored Research Scholar Grant, Research Scholar Grant and Clinical Research Professorship) listed below. However, meritorious applications focusing on disparity reduction will be funded prior to meritorious applications focusing on other areas in health policy and health services research. In order to qualify for this Priority Program, the application must explicitly demonstrate its relevance to cancer disparities and to specify how the results of the proposed study can be used to reduce disparities. This justification must appear throughout the application, especially in the Technical Abstract, the Background, Specific Aims and Study Design.
Applications that focus on the following population groups and/or areas of study are of particular interest, but applications need not be limited to these:
* Studies that focus on reducing disparities in the following population groups: African Americans, Hispanic/Latinos, Asians/Pacific Islanders, Native Americans/Alaskan Natives; Low Income/Rural Poor. Other population groups may also be considered, such as those characterized by gender, age, race/ethnicity, income, social class, disability, geographic location or sexual orientation.
* Studies that focus on health care costs, system structure or capacity, delivery of healthcare services or state or Federal policies that have the potential to contribute to a decrease in unequal access to care and/or treatment in populations of focus. Studies may be at the state, multi-state, or national levels, or otherwise involve large populations. Applicants should specifically describe how their results would generalize to the broader corresponding U.S. populations. The goal is to use new knowledge derived from these studies to reduce disparities by enhancing outcomes in cancer prevention, early detection and treatment, and informing policy development in these areas.
The American Cancer Society also recognizes the imporance of the role of insurance and the healthcare system in influencing outcome in all populations. Therefore, we have issued an additional RFA on the Role of Healthcare and Insurance on Health Outcomes.
3. Palliative Care and Symptom Management: Applications focusing on all areas of palliative care and symptom management will be accepted, using one of the four mechanisms (Postdoctoral Fellowship; Mentored Research Scholar Grant, Research Scholar Grant and Clinical Research Professorship) listed below. The priority allocation of dollars for disparity reduction does not apply to this area of research. The American Cancer Society recognizes the need for research in palliative care, and in response, we have issued an additional RFA on Palliative Care. Palliative care is defined as research that focuses on prevention and relief of suffering by the early identification, assessment and treatment of pain, as well as of other physical, psychosocial and spiritual problems associated with cancer. We welcome research proposals pertaining to adults and children with cancer, and their families, in the following categories:
* poor prognosis malignancies at any stage;
* advanced malignancies, defined as recurrent and/or metastatic disease;
* favorable prognosis malignancies associated with a high symptom burden.
Research areas generally associated with palliative care include, but are not limited to the following: Interventions to change behaviors on individual, group or community level; barriers to treatment reduction of complications and side effects; symptom reduction interventions; psycho-neuro-immunology; post-traumatic growth; benefit finding; existential re-evaluation spirituality; psychological effects of cancer and interventions to enhance coping; complementary and integrative medicine treatments; quality of life; symptom management (palliative care, treatment choices, decision-making, end-of-life care, doctor-patient-family communication); methodology (development and assessment of measurement scales, evaluation of statistical methodology); or disparity reduction in underserved populations. Application Mechanisms for the Priority Program (as well as for other non-Priority areas in Cancer Control and Prevention Research): Applications will be accepted via one of the following four mechanisms:
1. Postdoctoral Fellowships: This mechanism provides support for the training of researchers who have received a doctorate, providing initial funding leading to an independent career in cancer research. Please refer to Instructions and Policies for Postdoctoral Fellowships. Please Note: Eligibility criteria, budget and number of years of the award in this special initiative are the same as for those of the regular Postdoctoral Fellowship, as are instructions for submitting the application.
2. Mentored Research Scholar Grants in Applied and Clinical Research: This mechanism provides support for mentored research and training to full-time junior faculty, typically within the first four years of their first independent appointment. The goal is for these beginning investigators to become independent researchers as either clinician scientists or cancer control and prevention researchers. Please refer to Instructions and Policies for Mentored Research Scholar Grants in Applied and Clinical Research. Please Note: Eligibility criteria, budget and number of years of the award in this special initiative are the same as for those of the regular Mentored Research Scholar Grants in Applied and Clinical Research, as are instructions for submitting the application.
3. Research Scholar Grants: This mechanism supports investigator-initiated research projects by independent researchers. Please refer to Instructions and Policies for Research Scholar Grants. Please Note: Eligibility criteria, budget and renewal status in this special initiative differ from those of the regular Research Scholar Grants. However, instructions for submitting the application remain the same.
4. Clinical Research Professorships: Awarded to outstanding mid-career investigators who have made seminal contributions that have changed the direction of clinical, psychosocial, behavioral, health policy or epidemiologic research. Please refer to Instructions and Policies for Clinical Research Professorship. Please Note: Eligibility criteria, budget and number of years of the award in this special initiative are the same as for those of the regular Clinical Research Professorship, as are instructions for submitting the application.
Annual application deadlines: April 1 and October 15.
