The Health Communication Research Laboratory at Saint Louis University has received a $10 million grant to reduce the burden of cancer among African Americans by developing more effective communications strategies.
The five-year grant from the National Cancer Institute is the largest in the history of the Saint Louis University School of Public Health.
Saint Louis University is one of four national Centers of Excellence in Cancer Communication announced today in Washington, D.C. The other three are at the University of Michigan, the University of Wisconsin and the University of Pennsylvania. The National Cancer Institute is providing $40 million to fund the four centers, which will produce new knowledge about and techniques for communicating complex health information to the public.
This research is critical because many cancers strike African Americans at a higher rate than other racial or ethnic groups, says Matthew W. Kreuter, Ph.D., who will lead the new center based at Saint Louis University. Dr. Kreuter is director of the Health Communication Research Laboratory and associate professor at Saint Louis University School of Public Health.
"Communication is one of the most powerful tools we have to fight cancer. It helps prevent cancer by educating and motivating Americans to engage in healthy behaviors, and helps people with cancer make informed decisions and get the most out of their treatment," Dr. Kreuter says.
Specifically, Saint Louis University will conduct three major research studies, each using different forms of communication to analyze the power of personal stories from African-American women who have battled breast cancer, examine whether coverage of cancer-related stories in Black newspapers can help eliminate health disparities and explore the impact of culturally appropriate cancer preventions campaigns.
"As health professionals, we have done a poor job of assuring that all Americans receive timely, scientifically accurate and personally relevant information about their health. One of the main challenges for our Center is to change that," Dr. Kreuter says.
Saint Louis University will lead a collaborative effort, which involves the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Journalism and Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center, as well as faculty from Washington University and the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
Saint Louis University's Health Communication Research Laboratory was founded in 1996 and designated as one of Saint Louis University's Centers of Excellence in 2001. As such it shared an additional $1 million in funding during the ensuing three years to expand its outreach to improve health communication nationwide.
The Health Communication Research Laboratory develops and tests innovative programs that use new technologies, mass media and traditional communications channels to reach disadvantaged populations.
"Eliminating disparities is the nation's top health priority. Part of the solution is to assure that all Americans receive important information about their health," Dr. Kreuter says. "Our Center will contribute to that solution."
Saint Louis University School of Public Health is one of only 30 fully accredited schools of public health in the United States and the nation's only School of Public Health sponsored by a Jesuit university. It offers masters degrees (MPH, MHA) and doctoral programs (Ph.D.) in six public health disciplines and joint degrees with the Schools of Allied Health, Business, Law, Medicine, Nursing and Social Service. It is home to seven nationally recognized research centers and laboratories with funding sources that include the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Health Resources and Services Administration, the American Cancer Society, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the World Health Organization.
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