Grants and Contracts

Increasing Colorectal Cancer Screening
in Primary Care Physician Practices

Grantor: Kentucky Cancer Consortium
Amount of grant: $13,601
Grant period: 7/1/07 to 12/31/08

Colorectal cancer is second only to lung cancer as the cause of cancer-related deaths in both theUnited States and Kentucky. The good news is that 85-90 percent of colorectal cancer is curable when found early through screening. The bad news is that only 50 percent of Kentuckians who should have colorectal cancer screenings get them.

To address this problem, the Kentucky Cancer Program at the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville are collaborating with the Kentucky Cancer Consortium (KCC) to hold two statewide train-the-trainer workshops in May 2008 for primary care physicians.About 15 physicians from eight area development districts will be trained to serve as leaders in educating their peers on strategies to increase colorectal cancer screening in physician practices.

The trainings will be led by Whitney Jones, M.D., a Louisville gastroenterologist, and Kevin Pearce, M.D. a primary care physician who teaches at the University of Kentucky. Topics will include the importance of recommending colorectal screening to patients, potential barriers to screening, office policies and reminder systems, and effective communication with patients and staff.

This summer KCP staff will work with the physician leaders to coordinate regional trainings with their peers. Through these trainings we hope to reach at least 75 physicians and encourage them to communicate the importance of colorectal cancer screening with their patients.

Celebrate Your Birthday With A Mammogram Breast Cancer
Awareness Campaign

Grantor:Kentucky Breast Cancer Research and Education Trust Fund
Amount of grant: $10,000
Grant period:7/1/07 to 6/30/08

KCP at the University of Kentucky will educate about 400 women age 40 and older in Central and Eastern Kentucky about the importance of breast cancer screening. At least 10 regional events, based on a birthday party theme, will be part of a statewide breast cancer awareness campaign, conducted in partnership between KCP and Kentucky’s First Lady, Jane Bashear.

Information will be provided about breast cancer, and local cancer screening and care resources. Guests will receive special birthday cards containing screening information, which they will be asked to send to three female friends or family members. KCP staff will follow-up with women who are rarely or never screened by mail and telephone calls. A special emphasis is placed on reaching women who are age 65 and older, medically underserved, under-insured and rarely or never screened.

Prevention Pays Lay Health Worker Demonstration Project

Grantor: Kentucky Women’s Cancer Screening Program
Amount of grant:$28,144
Grant Period: 7/1/07 to 6/30/0

KCP the University of Kentucky is working with the North Central Area Health Education Center (AHEC) to train lay health workers to educate Latina and African-American women, especially those between the ages of 40 and 64 who have rarely or never been screened for cervical cancer.
Lay health workers engage in multi-faceted outreach activities that include small group presentations, mass media, health fairs, and special events that are tailored to reach the target population.

Women who are screened for cervical cancer through the Fayette County Health Department Screening Program and the lay health workers who refer them receive $20 Wal-Mart certificates as incentives.
This is the second year of the demonstration project, which hopes to screen 60 women by June 2008.