ASPO Abstracts
Supporting the Development of Cancer Disparities Researchers - Perspectives from GMaP Region 4
Category: Cancer Health Disparities
Conference Year: 2023
Abstract Body:
Purpose: A lack of workforce diversity has been identified as a barrier to improving access to quality care for underserved minority groups, as well as advancing research on health disparities. The Geographic Management of Cancer Health Disparities Program is a national program funded by the National Cancer Institute's Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities (CRCHD) whose seven regions use a multipronged engagement approach to increase recruitment/retention of diverse investigators and to strengthen professional development through a variety of programmatic efforts. Methods: In Fall 2021, GMaP Region 4 took the lead in drafting a National GMaP Feedback Survey to implement across all the GMaP regions with any GMaP member who had engaged with their regional GMaP program via participation in one of its flagship programs (e.g. travel awards, pilot awards) between 2014- 2021. It was implemented in Jan-March 2022. Members were asked open ended questions about the direct impact of the award received on their work, how their overall involvement with GMaP was a benefit to their career development, and what resources or career development support would be most useful to them moving forward. Qualitative analysis is ongoing and reveals themes in the areas of: mentor connection, dissertation completion, research skills training, and increasing competitiveness for NIH grants. We also collected CVs to do analysis on subsequent funding awards, publications, and further career appointments that occurred after their GMaP involvement. Results: Here we report the data collected from Region 4 scholars. We had 46 responses, out of 117 (39.3% response rate) and 33 of 46 (83.2%) stated that they had received NCI Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities CURE Funding Awards following their GMaP participation including: Diversity Supplement (13, 40.6%), F31 (3, 9.4%), K01 (13, 40.6%), K08 (1, 3.1%), K22 (3, 9.4%), K23 (1, 3.1%), Workforce Diversity R21 (5, 15.6%). From the CV analysis (39 CVs), following their GMaP participation there were: 90 subsequent funding awards, 312 publications and 69 new appointments. Conclusions: GMaP's programs are effective to increasing competitiveness of URM scholars as they pursued careers in cancer and cancer health disparities research.
Keywords: diverse scholars cancer disparities