Disparities Committee

Why? Nobody in Delaware should have a higher risk of getting cancer and dying from it due to his or her racial or ethnic backgorund.

Particularly at risk are American American men for prostate cancer and African American women for colon and breast cancer. Our goal is to treat every Delawarean equally. Although cancer screening rates are equal between Caucasians and African Americans, African Americans are more likely to die from prostate and colon cancer. We must reach out farther and with greater accuracy to understand the source of the disparity—examining access to care, timeliness of care or quality of care, for example—and put services in place to eliminate it.

ARE SOME OF US MORE LIKELY TO BE AFFECTED BY THIS THAN OTHERS?

  • The mortality rate for prostate cancer for African American men is twice that of Caucasian males.
  • Although the incidence rate for breast cancer for African American women is lower, the mortality rate is more than 30% higher.
  • The mortality rate for colon cancer is still higher for African Americans than for Caucasians.

WHAT CAN BE DONE

  • Engage at-risk populations in health screenings where they live.
  • Improve data collection regarding disparities.
  • Improve prostate cancer screenings among African American men.
  • Improve colon and breast cancer screenings among African American women.
  • Study how we’re treating colon cancer to determine if there are better interventions.
  • Find out how our programs are being received in at-risk communities.
  • Get more at-risk individuals to learn about and enroll in clinical trials.

Click each goal to read about the objectives, tasks and timeframes.

Goal 1

Year 1
$75,000
Year 2
$80,000
Year 3
$80,000
Year 4
$80,000
Objective 1A: Conduct community-level health surveys targeting communities with high percentage of minority populations (including Hispanics).
Task/Action Responsible Party Timeframe
Research existing surveys and adopt/adapt as appropriate. DPH Year 1
Develop criteria for selection of communities to be surveyed. DPH Year 1
Approve criteria for selection of communities to be surveyed. Disparities Committee Year
Select communities to be surveyed based on approved criteria. DPH, Disparities Committee Year 1
Meet with key leaders in selected communities to gain support and answer questions. DPH, Disparities Committee Year 1
Conduct surveys, analyze results and develop interventions based on results. DPH Year 2 & ongoing
Objective 1B: Endorse and actively promote the recommendations of the Disparities Task Force—specifically those related to improving consistency and accuracy of race/ethnicity data.
Task/Action Responsible Party Timeframe
Participate in joint meetings and events to encourage health care providers and health systems to adopt uniform reporting of race and ethnicity data (including but not limited to support for legislation, regulations and funding to implement uniform reporting). Disparities Committee, DCC Year 1 & ongoing

Goal 2

Year 1
$100,000
Year 2
$100,000
Year 3
$100,000
Year 4
$100,000
Objective 2A: Add coverage for prostate cancer screening to the Screening for Life program.(Action steps to be carried out by Early Detection & Prevention Prostate Subcommittee)
Task/Action Responsible Party Timeframe
Objective 2B: Implement a prostate cancer education and screening advocacy program statewide.
Task/Action Responsible Party Timeframe
Consult and develop formal relationships with existing prostate cancer screening programs/advocates in Delaware. DPH Year 1
Develop and implement program evaluation. DPH Year 1 & ongoing
Develop screening recommendations for high-risk populations as appropriate. DPH, DCC Year 1
Revise screening recommendations as needed. DPH, DCC As needed

Goal 3

Year 1
$0
Year 2
$50,000
Year 3
$50,000
Year 4
$50,000
Objective 3A: Conduct a descriptive study using information from the State and hospital cancer registries focusing specifically on African American women diagnosed with colorectal and breast cancer and develop interventions based on analysis of the data collected.
Task/Action Responsible Party Timeframe
Develop study protocol. DPH staff Year 1
Review and approve protocol. Disparities Committee Year 1
Conduct study, analyze results and develop potential interventions. DPH Year 2 & ongoing
Review results and potential interventions and make recommendations to DPH staff. Disparities Committee Year 2 & annually thereafter
Conduct and evaluate interventions. DPH Year 2 & ongoing
Review evaluation data and make recommendations for modifications to interventions. Disparities Committee Year 2 & annually thereafter
Objective 3B: Using results of stage three colon cancer treatment study (to be completed Winter 2007), develop interventions to improve receipt of state-of-the-art treatment (including but not limited to interventions targeting patients, providers, health care systems and the general public).
Task/Action Responsible Party Timeframe
Develop, conduct and evaluate interventions. DPH Year 2 & ongoing
Review data and make recommendations for modifications to interventions. Disparities Committee Year 2 & ongoing

Goal 4

Year 1
$0
Year 2
$75,000
Year 3
$80,000
Year 4
$80,000
Objective 4A: Conduct a statewide cancer survey modeled on the Adult Tobacco Survey.*
Task/Action Responsible Party Timeframe
Develop survey. DPH Year 1
Implement survey and analyze results. DPH Year 2 & annually thereafter
Use data to make program decisions. DPH, DCC Year 2 & ongoing

Goal 5

Year 1
$20,000
Year 2
$25,000
Year 3
$25,000
Year 4
$25,000
Objective 5A: Partner with Christiana Care Health System (CCHS) community clinical trial program to implement activities that will increase the number of providers who participate in clinical trials and the frequency with which trials are offered to minority patients.
Task/Action Responsible Party Timeframe
Conduct provider education and outreach to promote clinical trials to Hispanic and African American populations. DPH Year 1 & ongoing
Increase the number of physicians designated as clinical trial principal investigators. DPH Years 2–4
Ensure clinical trial recruitment and participation documents collect information on patient race and ethnicity. DPH Year 1