NACDD was successful in competing for thirteen cancer prevention and control projects funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Division of Cancer Prevention and Control. All thirteen projects submitted were approved for funding. Following is a brief description of each project in the cancer project portfolio.
Increasing Colorectal Cancer Screening Rates: State-Specific Health Intelligence and Partner Collaboration – Using the State Engagement Model, NACDD, in partnership with CDC and Leavitt Partners, works with six state health departments (3 with Medicaid expansion and 3 without Medicaid expansion) to create state-specific health intelligence tools and resources and to engage key health system and health plan stakeholders to develop and implement targeted strategies to increase colorectal cancer screening rates.
Cancer Prevention Across the Lifespan: Putting Scientific Evidence for Primary Prevention in Public Health Practice – This project uses information gained from previous work and applies it to the development of innovative resources to empower public health practitioners, including CDC funded Comprehensive Cancer Control grantees, to put evidence-based cancer prevention strategies into action in their communities using a lifespan approach. During the first year of this five-year project the core focus areas include calculating and communicating cancer risk, reduction of unnecessary exposure to medical radiation, physical inactivity and caregiver stress.
Cancer Leadership and Collaborative Technical Assistance –This project supports the NACDD Cancer Council activities including quarterly meetings of the entire Council, interaction with the CCC National Partnership and NCI, quarterly meetings of the CDC screening programs (NBCCEDP and CRCCP), regularly scheduled professional development offerings, special interest area discussions such as palliative care, cancer services in rural areas, impact of health insurance reform on programs and health communications, and peer-to-peer support.
Data Analysis and Support for Evaluation of the NBCCEDP and the CRCCP – NACDD has an ongoing partnership with the University of Washington (UW) who has been conducting annual surveys of screening projects for a few years. NACDD has contracted with an Evaluation Specialist to work with CDC on evaluation capacity-building at the project level. NACDD will work with UW and CDC on the development of useful formats for evaluation training and program enhancement. The purpose of this project is to increase evaluation related technical assistance to NBCCEDP/CRCCP grantees and to increase the dissemination and utilization of survey data.
Capacity Building Training for Tribal and Territorial Cancer Prevention Programs – NACDD is collaborating with CDC and tribal/territorial cancer screening grantees to plan and provide a capacity-building workshop focusing on evidence-based strategies to increase breast, cervical and colorectal cancer screening. The showcasing evidence-based strategies include: patient reminders, provider reminders, provider assessment and feedback and reducing structural barriers. The training workshop provides knowledge and skill building workshop experiences to assist the attendee in having an enhanced ability to effectively implement health systems intervention strategies and leave with identified actions steps to implement through their programs.
Enhancing Cancer Program Grantee Capacity through Peer to Peer Learning – This project supports collaboration and communication across programs by facilitating peer-to-peer learning opportunities for NBCCEDP and CRCCP grantees and their partners. The project develops and implements a training forum for grantees and select partners to: discuss implementation of health systems change (and potentially, other FOA strategies) including successes, challenges, and lessons learned; share promising practices and success stories in implementation, evaluation, and sustainability; provide peer-to-peer skill-building and technical assistance (TA) training in critical implementation and evaluation areas; share practical implementation and evaluation tools and tips; and discuss data use and management to support program monitoring and improvement, and outcomes evaluation
Impact of the Changing Health Policy Environment on State Cancer Program – NACDD monitors the health policy environment at the national and state levels to assess how state cancer prevention and control programs are transforming to take advantage of opportunities to increase appropriate cancer screening and early detection, especially for CDC-funded cancer programs. Briefs, reports and presentations of the impact of health policies on cancer screening programs are developed for use by CDC, state chronic disease directors and directors of CDC funded cancer programs.
Providing Communication Technical Assistance to State Cancer Prevention Efforts – NACDD supports CDC cancer grantee communication efforts by offering on-going, proactive technical assistance. NACDD supports and motivates grantees to act, ensuring implementation of communication plans and tools to the best of grantee capacity. NACDD is committed to providing continued support and new messaging to grantees and CDC through an NACDD facilitated grantee to grantee mentoring program, new data-informed messages and talking points allowing for the enhancement of cancer.gov/screenoutcancer website, a national awareness push leveraging the state-of-the art resources, partnerships and talent of CBSHealthSolutions.
National Program of Cancer Registries: Identifying and Implementing Best Practices for Registry Operations – NACCD and the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR) work with the CDC Division of Cancer Prevention and Control to identify best practices among grantees funded by the National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR) in an effort to improve compliance with the NPCR standards for 12-month and 24-month data quality and completeness. Best practices are identified through a survey issued by the CDC Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, informal interviews, focus groups and in-person summit meetings. To better understand differences in practice, project team will work with at least 8 registries that have difficulty meeting the NPCR standards and 8 registries that have demonstrated better compliance with the standard. As a result of this project, cancer registries in the NPCR program will be better equipped to collect and process cancer incidence data in a timely manner and make data available for evidence-based/informed decision-making regarding public health priorities.
Strengthening National Program of Cancer Registries by Enhancing Educational and Training Capacity and Infrastructure – Working in partnership the CDC Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, NACDD, University of Miami School of Medicine’s Fundamental Learning Collaborative for the Cancer Surveillance Community (FLccSC) and the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR), will increase access and use of an existing online learning management system able to support the present, expected and forecasted educational needs of the National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR) and CDC Division of Cancer Prevention and Control grantees. The identified online educational portal will include functions to create sites specifically for cancer registries and cancer programs, a course management tool, a Help desk offering bi-directional communication and ability to offer pre- and post-tests to document changes in knowledge, attitude and practice.
Reducing Breast Cancer Disparities in States: Creating the Bridge from Data to Action – The CDC Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, NACDD and the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) work with five identified state health department cancer prevention and control programs to strengthen their capacity in implementing evidence-based interventions and actionable strategies for reducing breast cancer disparities. NACDD and ASTHO will coordinate webinars, support calls, in-person technical assistance (TA) visits and a new community of practice
Increasing Healthy Behaviors Among Cancer Survivors in Rural Communities. – The purpose of this project is to expand the reach and sustainability of multiple-component survivorship wellness programs in rural communities by building capacity and fostering relationships with Community Based Organizations. NACDD is working with State Comprehensive Cancer programs and their partners to identify the needs of cancer survivors and address those need though local access to wellness and health education services. Grant awards (4-6 awards) will support efforts to engage local community-based organizations in developing and implementing evidence informed wellness interventions for cancer survivors in rural communities.
Health and Wellness in Cancer Survivors: Developing new tools to talk about behavior change – NACDD partners with Kognito, a health simulation company to develop 4 simulation modules for cancer survivors. Proposed modules will include nutrition, physical activity, tobacco and alcohol and anxiety. An additional fifth module will address health care providers. State, territorial and tribal health department professionals will be trained on the modular tools in order to deploy them throughout their survivor-communities. A strategic communication dissemination plan will be developed for state, territorial and tribal health departments as well as for traditional and social media, partner organizations and the larger clinical community.
For further information please contact Frank Bright – fbright@chronicdisease.org or the lead NACDD Consultant/Staff on each project (the first person listed).