title: Working to Eliminate Cancer Health Disparities from Tobacco: A Review of the National Cancer Institute's Community Networks Program.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In 2005, the National Cancer Institute funded the Community Networks Program (CNP), which aimed to reduce cancer health disparities in minority racial/ethnic and underserved groups through community-based participatory research, education, and training. The purpose of this study was to describe the CNP model and their tobacco-related work in community-based research, education, and training using a tobacco disparities research framework.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a comprehensive review of the CNP tobacco-related activities including publications, published abstracts, research activities, trainee pilot studies, policy-related activities, educational outreach, and reports produced from 2005-2009. Two authors categorized the tobacco-related activities and publications within the framework.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Although there was no mandate to address tobacco, the CNPs produced 103 tobacco-related peer-reviewed publications, which reflects the largest proportion (12%) of all CNP cancer-related publications. Selected publications and research activities were most numerous under the framework areas "Psychosocial Research," "Surveillance," "Epidemiology," and "Treatment of Nicotine Addiction." Thirteen CNPs participated in tobacco control policymaking in mainstream efforts that affected their local community and populations, and 24 CNPs conducted 1147 tobacco-related educational outreach activities. CNP activities that aimed to build research and infrastructure capacity included nine tobacco-related pilot projects representing 16% of all CNP cancer-related pilot projects, and 17 publications acknowledging leveraged partnerships with other organizations, a strategy encouraged by the CNP.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The CNP is a promising academic-community model for working to eliminate tobacco-related health disparities. Future efforts may address scientific gaps, consider collaboration across groups, assess the extent of operationalizing community-based participatory research, and improve common tracking measures.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, University of California, Davis, Sacramento, CA; ektong@ucdavis.edu.
authors.forename: Elisa K
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Tong
authors.affiliation: Cancer Prevention and Control Program, University of Hawaii Cancer Center, Honolulu, HI;
authors.forename: Pebbles
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fagan
authors.affiliation: Independent Consultant, Bethesda, MD;
authors.forename: Leslie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cooper
authors.affiliation: Center for Research Capacity Building, National Institute of General Medical Sciences, Bethesda, MD;
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Canto
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL;
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Carroll
authors.affiliation: CSR Incorporated, Arlington, VA;
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Foster-Bey
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC;
authors.forename: James R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Hébert
authors.affiliation: National Children's Study, Bethesda, MD;
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lopez-Class
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA;
authors.forename: Grace X
authors.initials: GX
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Black Hills Center for American Indian Health, Rapid City, SD;
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nez Henderson
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA;
authors.forename: Eliseo J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Pérez-Stable
authors.affiliation: Queen's Medical Center, Honolulu, HI;
authors.forename: LorrieAnn
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.affiliation: Independent Consultant, Asheville, NC;
authors.forename: Justin H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA;
authors.forename: Yin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA;
authors.forename: Janice
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tsoh
authors.affiliation: Formerly National Cancer Institute's Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities (retired), Bethesda, MD.
authors.forename: Kenneth
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Chu
mesh_terms: D019058:Community Networks / Q000639:trends*; D055812:Community-Based Participatory Research / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends*; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D054547:National Cancer Institute (U.S.) / Q000639:trends*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000208:ethnology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D012907:Smoking / Q000208:ethnology; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D014481:United States; D062789:Tobacco Products