Health disparities research--a model for conducting research on cancer disparities: characterization and reduction

The existence of disparities in health has gained national attention. While racial disparities in health have been documented for decades, "health disparities research" has not been described or defined. Health disparities may occur in categories such as racial/ethnic, age, and in geographic categories such as rural/urban, as well as in socioeconomic status. This paper, using the documented racial disparities in cancer for blacks and whites, presents a framework and model for documenting disparities, designing and conducting health disparities research, and applying the results of this research to reduce or eliminate disproportionate rates. The model consists of four components: 1. Surveillance 2. Explanatory Research 3. Intervention Research: Development and Evaluation 4. Translation/Application of Research Results. This model is presented to assist researchers in systematically addressing health disparities through well designed, well conducted, and well applied research. The Special Populations Cancer Research Networks are an 18 member national network of grants that focus on cancer disparities research, community awareness and participatory research, increased accrual of minorities to clinical trials, and training of minority investigators. The primary objective of the University of Maryland School of Medicine's grant is to reduce cancer rate disparities in underserved communities.