The following resources have been recommended by members of the NRG Health Disparities Committee. These are resources that they have found helpful in their work, care and treatment of many racially and ethnically diverse populations.
These examples are provided to you as an introduction to improve or establish programs to educate staff and care for clients at your site or institution.NRG Oncology has not created, endorsed or approved these tools, resources, or Web sites. Therefore, it is your responsibility to seek and verify the use of the resource within your site.
We hope these resources will assist you as you work with NRG clinical trials.
Websites & Programs
National Medical Association Cobb Scholars Program
The W. Montague Cobb/National Medical Association (NMA) Health Institute (The Cobb Institute), a 501(c)(3) in Washington, DC, functions as a national consortium of scholars that engages in innovative research and knowledge dissemination for the reduction and elimination of racial and ethnic health disparities and racism in medicine. Solving one of our society’s most pressing problems, racial inequities in health, requires the collaborative work of public agencies, private entities, academic medical centers, and -- equally important -- communities.
Enhancing Minority Participation in Clinical Trials (EMPaCT)
EMPaCT's mission is to "increase recruitment and retention of racial/ethnic minorities into therapeutic clinical trials with the ultimate goal of reducing cancer-related health disparities." EMPaCT created resources such as Training Courses, Resource Reviews and Training Videos. (10/2020)
Cancer statistics
AACR Cancer Disparities Progress Report (2022)
Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)
The SEER Program provides information on cancer statistics in an effort to reduce the cancer burden among the U.S. population. SEER is supported by the Surveillance Research Program (SRP) in NCI's Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences (DCCPS).
Office of Minority Health (OMH)
(Resource Center, free online education, policy & data)
OMH is a source for minority health literature, research, and referrals for consumers, community organizations and health professionals. Office of Minority Health Resource Center (OMHRC) also offers capacity building and technical assistance services designed to increase the strength and competence of health care agencies and programs.
NCI Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities (CRCHD) (cancer health disparities resources, diversity training and research with funding opportunities)
The Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities (CRCHD) is central to NCI’s efforts to reduce the unequal burden of cancer in our society via basic and community research, as well as networks, and to train the next generation of competitive researchers from diverse populations in cancer and cancer health disparities research. (10/2020)
CDC Health Disparities & Inequalities Report (CHDIR)
CDC and its partners work to identify and address the factors that lead to health disparities among racial, ethnic, geographic, socioeconomic, and other groups so that barriers to health equity can be removed. Providing accurate, useful data on the causes of illness and death in the United States and across the world is a foundation of CDC's mission and work. (10/2020)
Health Equity Matters (10/2020)
Department of Health & Human Services Strategies
Every four years, HHS updates its strategic plan, which describes its work to address complex, multifaceted, and evolving health and human services issues.
Overview: HHS Strategic Plan, FY 2018-2022
HHS Action Plan to Reduce Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities
Publications
Articles/Journals:
Rebecca A Snyder, MD, MPH and others, The room where it happens: addressing diversity, equity, and inclusion in National Clinical Trials Network clinical trial leadership, JNCI: Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 2023;, djad121, https://doi.org/10.1093/jnci/djad121
Laucis AM, Jagsi R, Griffith KA, Dominello MM, Walker EM, Abu-Isa EI, Dilworth JT, Vicini F, Kocheril PG, Browne CH, Mietzel MA, Moran JM, Hayman JA, Pierce LJ; Michigan Radiation Oncology Quality Consortium. The role of facility variation on racial disparities in use of hypofractionated whole breast radiation therapy. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2020 Aug 1;107(5):949-958. doi: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2020.04.035. Epub 2020 May 4. PMID: 32376311. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32376311/
Farley JH, Hines J, Lee NK, Brooks SE, Nair N, Brown CL, Doll KM, Sullivan EJ, Chapman-Davis E. Promoting health equity in the era of COVID-19. Gynecol Oncol. 2020 Jul;158(1):25-31. doi: 10.1016/j.ygyno.2020.05.023. Epub 2020 May 19. PMID: 32446719; PMCID: PMC7236740. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32446719/
Brooks SE, Muller CY, Robinson W, Walker EM, Yeager K, Cook ED, Friedman S, Somkin CP, Brown CL, McCaskill-Stevens W. Increasing minority enrollment onto clinical trials: Practical strategies and challenges emerge from the NRG Oncology Accrual Workshop. J Oncol Pract. 2015 Nov;11(6):486-90. doi: 10.1200/JOP.2015.005934. Epub 2015 Oct 13. Click here for article.
Cook ED, Yeager KA, Cecchini RS, Boparai J, Brown CL, Duncan M, Cronin WM, Paskett ED. Recruitment practices for U.S. minority and underserved populations in NRG Oncology: Results of an online survey. Contemp Clin Trials Commun. 2018 Mar 9;10:100-104. doi: 10.1016/j.conctc.2018.03.003. eCollection 2018 Jun. Click here for article.
Knoll MA: Harnessing the Power of Twitter for Clinical Trial Enrollment and Success. The ASCO Post. May 10, 2019. Click here for article.
Knoll MA: How social media can advance cancer research. Forbes. February 15, 2019. Click here for article.
Cook ED, Yeager KA, Cecchini RS, et al. Recruitment practices for U.S. minority and underserved populations in NRG oncology: Results of an online survey. Contemp Clin Trials Commun. 2018 Mar 9;10:100-104. doi: 10.1016/j.conctc.2018.03.003. eCollection 2018 Jun. Click here for article.
Special supplement: American Journal of Public Health, funded by NIMHD, which presents research and perspectives focused on expanding methodological approaches to monitor and reduce health disparities for minority populations. Click here to access.
Borrell LN, Vaughan R. An AJPH Supplement Toward a Unified Research Approach for Minority Health and Health Disparities. Am J Public Health. 2019 Jan; 109(S1):S6-S7
Tanya Agurs-Collins, Susan Persky, Electra D. Paskett, et al. Designing and Assessing Multilevel Interventions to Improve Minority Health and Reduce Health Disparities Am J Public Health 2019: 109, S86_S93.
Special supplement: Medical Care Publishes “Addressing Health Disparities Through the Utilization of Health Information Technology
Health information technology (IT) tools may serve a vital role in reducing health disparities in the clinical care setting by increasing access to care, improving quality of healthcare, and by promoting better patient-clinician communication. June 2019 - Vol 57 - Supplement 6Suppl 2. Click here to access.
Examples from Medical Care supplement include:
Zhang, X; Hailu, B; Tabor, DC. et al. Role of Health Information Technology in Addressing Health Disparities: Patient, Clinician, and System Perspectives Medical Care. 57:S115-S120, Jun 2019.
Pérez-Stable J, Eliseo & Jean-Francois, Beda & Ferrell Aklin, Courtney. Leveraging Advances in Technology to Promote Health Equity. Med Care. 2019; 57 Suppl 6 Suppl 2. S101-S103. 10.1097/MLR.0000000000001112.
Schickedanz A, Hamity C, Rogers A, Sharp AL, Jackson A. Clinician Experiences and Attitudes Regarding Screening for Social Determinants of Health in a Large Integrated Health System. Med Care. 2019; 57 Suppl 6 Suppl 2:S197-S201. doi:10.1097/MLR.0000000000001051. PubMed PMID: 31095061.
Krakow M, Hesse B, Oh A, et al. Addressing Rural Geographic Disparities Through Health IT: Initial Findings From the Health Information National Trends Survey. Med Care. 2019; 57 Suppl 6 Suppl 2. S127-S132. 10.1097/MLR.0000000000001028.
Paller CJ, Wang L, Brawley OW. Racial Inequality in Prostate Cancer Outcomes-Socioeconomics, Not Biology. JAMA Oncol. 2019 Jul 1;5(7):983-984. doi:10.1001/jamaoncol.2019.0812. PubMed PMID: 31120499. here
Books
Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People
Mahzarin Banaji and Anthony Greenwald explore hidden biases that we all carry from a lifetime of experiences with social groups – age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, social class, sexuality, disability status, or nationality. (2013)