Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #121954

Marielos L. Vega, BSN, RN¹, Stanley H. Weiss, MD², Ping-Hsin Chen, PhD¹, Jeanne Ferrante, MD¹, Ana Natale-Pereira, MD³, Sue Rovi, PhD⁴, Steven K. Keller, PhD⁵, and Mark S. Johnson, MD, MPH¹. (1) Department of Family Medicine, UMDNJ - New Jersey Medical School, 185 South Orange Ave, MSB-B-648, Newark, NJ 07103, 973-972-2495, vegama@umdnj.edu, (2) Epidemiology, UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School, 30 Bergen St, Bldg 16, Suite ADMC 1614, Newark, NJ 07107-3000, (3) Department of Medicine - Academic Medicine, Geriatrics, and Community Programs, UMDNJ - New Jersey Medical School, 185 South Orange Ave, MSB- I 594, Newark, NJ 07103, (4) Department of Family Medicine, UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School, 185 South Orange Ave, MSB-B-648, Newark, NJ 07103, (5) Office of Education and Department of Family Medicine, UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School, 185 South Orange Ave, MSB-B-525, Newark, NJ 07103

Hispanic Americans, whose number increased by 58% since 1990 to 39 million in 2003, are the fastest growing demographic group in the U.S. Large numbers of immigrants and robust fertility rates have caused this growth. If current trends continue, the Hispanic population will almost triple by 2050; one of every four Americans will be Hispanic. In 2003, New Jersey had an estimated population of 1,234,632 Hispanics (14.6% of the population), seventh highest in the country following California, Texas, New York, Florida, Illinois, and Arizona.

Drawing a cancer profile of the Hispanic/Latino population is difficult, due to the diversity of its subgroups, which vary in risk behaviors, geography, environment, practices, and access to healthcare. The majority of Hispanics/Latinos face barriers to healthcare access, including lack of insurance, under-representation in healthcare fields, and cultural and language differences. These demographic characteristics and barriers directly affect cancer risk among Latinos and shape development of prevention and control strategies in state cancer control plans.

National and local initiatives are underway to tackle cancer disparities among Hispanics/Latinos. Redes En Acción [The National Hispanic/Latino Cancer Network] is building a nationwide network of community-based organizations, research institutions, government health agencies and the public to promote training and research opportunities for Latino students and researchers, generate research projects on key Latino cancer issues, and support cancer awareness activities. Latino investigators in NJ are developing interventions to increase cancer screening rates and early detection among Hispanics, which are anticipated to reduce cancer morbidity and mortality.

Learning Objectives: Learning Objectives

At the conclusion of the session, the participant will be able to (
• Identify key components of a state comprehensive cancer control plan. (
• Assess the feasibility of and resources needed for conducting a comprehensive cancer capacity and needs assessment from an epidemiologic standpoint. (
• Describe strategies to expand partnerships with state and local cancer control planners. (
• Describe benefits and limitations of local implementation approaches. (
• Be able to apply a simplified methodology to develop prevalence estimates. (
• Better understand issues related to cancer disparities in Latino communities.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

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