Cooperative Agreement NU58DP007169

SUPPORT CANCER CONTROL EFFORTS IN IHS NASHVILLE REGION FOR TRIBAL/URBAN AMERICAN INDIAN AND ALASKA NATIVE COMMUNITIES - THE AMERICAN INDIAN CANCER FOUNDATION (AICAF) SEEKS FUNDING TO CONTINUE IMPLEMENTING SCREEN OUR CIRCLE (NATIONAL BREAST AND CERVICAL CANCER EARLY DETECTION PROGRAM) AND INDIGENOUS CANCER SOLUTIONS (COMPREHENSIVE CANCER CONTROL PROGRAM) WITH EFFORTS FOCUSED ON THE INDIAN HEALTH SERVICES (IHS) NASHVILLE REGION. CANCER CONTINUES TO BE THE LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH AMONG AMERICAN INDIANS AND ALASKA NATIVES (AI/AN). AI/ANS IN THE UNITED STATES EXPERIENCE SOME OF THE WORST CANCER OUTCOMES WORLDWIDE. THIS REALITY IS STAGGERING; CONSIDERING CANCER AMONG AI/ANS WAS RARE PRIOR TO THE LAST TWO DECADES. AS CANCER MORTALITY RATES AMONG MOST RACES HAVE BEEN DECREASING DURING THIS TIMEFRAME, AI/ANS ARE NOT EXPERIENCING DECREASED RATES (CDC, 2010). THE NASHVILLE IHS REGION IS HOME TO 36 TRIBAL NATIONS AND SERVICES 32 TRIBAL PROGRAMS AND FOUR URBAN INDIAN HEALTH PROGRAMS (UIHP) LOCATED IN DALLAS, BALTIMORE, BOSTON, AND LONG ISLAND CITY PROVIDING CARE TO 122,000 ACTIVE PATIENTS. HOWEVER, MUCH OF THE DATA FOR THE IHS NASHVILLE AREA IS SUPPRESSED, SUGGESTING LARGER POPULATIONS AND A GREATER NEED FOR CANCER PREVENTION PROGRAMS. AICAF IS REQUESTING SUPPORT TO CONTINUE THE SCREEN OUR CIRCLE (SOC) PROGRAM AND THE INDIGENOUS CANCER SOLUTIONS (ICS) PROGRAM (FORMERLY KNOWN AS URBAN CANCER SOLUTIONS). WHILE OUR EXISTING DP17-1701 PROGRAMS ARE NATIONAL AND FOCUSED ON UIHPS, THIS FUNDING WILL SUPPORT A SPECIFIC REGION WITH HISTORICALLY UNMET NEEDS. THE URBAN INTER-TRIBAL CENTER OF TEXAS, A CURRENT DP17-1701 PARTNER, IS COMMITTED TO THIS NEW FUNDING OPPORTUNITY. ADDITIONALLY, WE HAVE IDENTIFIED TWO OTHER CLINICS IN THIS REGION READY TO PARTNER. THE SOC PROGRAM WILL LEVERAGE DATA AND SURVEILLANCE SYSTEMS, BUILD STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS, ELEVATE SCREENING OPPORTUNITIES AND IMPLEMENT EBIS, IN ADDITION TO EVALUATING AND MONITORING ACTIVITIES TO REDUCE CANCER DISPARITIES. AICAF STAFF NOT ONLY COME WITH EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE IN IMPLEMENTING DP17-1701, OUR STAFF ALSO COME FROM AN INDIGENOUS LENS TO ASSIST IN THE PROMOTION OF HEALTH EQUITY AND AN OVERALL INCREASE IN PREVENTATIVE CANCER SCREENINGS. IN YEAR 1, WE WILL PARTNER WITH TWO CLINICS FOR REIMBURSABLE SERVICES, INCLUDING BREAST AND CERVICAL CANCER SCREENINGS AND PATIENT NAVIGATION, REACHING OVER 300 WOMEN WITH AN OVERALL GOAL TO PARTNER WITH 5 CLINICS BY YEAR 2. OUTCOMES INCLUDE INCREASED PARTNERSHIPS, EXPANDED DATA SOVEREIGNTY OF CLINICS AND COMMUNITIES, AND SUSTAINING EBIS. THE ICS PROGRAM WILL CONTINUE IMPLEMENTING SHARED VISIONS AND PLANS BASED ON DISEASE BURDEN AND SURVEILLANCE DATA, ADJUSTING ITS NATIONAL COALITION TO ALIGN WITH THE NASHVILLE IHS REGION AND REACHING ACHIEVABLE OBJECTIVES THROUGH AN UPDATED CANCER PLAN. THE ICS PROGRAM WILL IMPLEMENT THE FULL SUITE OF STRATEGIES WHILE TAILORING THE ACTIVITIES TO BE CULTURALLY-GROUNDED. THE PROGRAM WILL PARTNER WITH TWO CLINICS IN YEAR 1 AND EXPAND TO TWO MORE IN YEAR 2, FOR A TOTAL OF FOUR CLINIC PARTNERS CONTRACTED TO IMPLEMENT EBIS IN YEARS 2-5. THE PROPOSED OUTCOMES ARE SHARED IN THE ATTACHED APPLICATION, BUT THE LONG TERM OUTCOMES REMAIN IN ALIGNMENT WITH MANY OF AICAF'S CORE GOALS; REDUCE AI/AN CANCER RISK THROUGH PRIMARY PREVENTION; DECREASE AI/AN CANCER BURDEN BY INCREASING SCREENING RATES; INCREASE THE QUALITY OF LIFE AMONG AI/AN CANCER SURVIVORS BY EXPANDING SUPPORT SERVICES; AND ULTIMATELY ELIMINATE THE CANCER BURDENS. AS A NATIVE-LED ORGANIZATION, WE STRIVE TO BE A TRUSTED PARTNER BY TRIBAL AND URBAN COMMUNITY MEMBERS, LEADERS, HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS, AND OTHERS THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES. WE OFFER A WEALTH OF EXPERTISE THAT WEAVES TOGETHER THE MOST ROBUST SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE WITH TRADITIONAL INDIGENOUS WISDOM TO IMPROVE CANCER SCREENING RATES AND SUPPORT HEALTH SYSTEMS CHANGE FOR OUR AI/AN POPULATION. OUR HIGHLY TRAINED, DEDICATED, AND EXPERIENCED TEAM IS READY TO PARTNER TO INCREASE CANCER SCREENING RATES AND ELIMINATE T