New Avera/USD Research Project Will Target Prevention of Cervical Cancer among Native Americans
American Cancer Society funds two-year study in South Dakota
SIOUX FALLS (Dec. 1, 2009) - The American Cancer Society has awarded a two-year, $50,000 grant to the Avera Research Institute in cooperation with the University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine to increase awareness and prevention of cervical cancer among the Northern Plains American Indians.
"In the United States, every minute a woman is diagnosed with a precancerous lesion, every hour a woman is diagnosed with cervical cancer, and every two hours a woman dies from cervical cancer," said Delf Schmidt-Grimminger, MD, assistant professor in the department of obstetrics and gynecology at the USD School of Medicine and senior scientist with the Avera Research Institute. Deaths due to cervical cancer are two to three times higher among Native Americans communities living in the plains than the general population.
"My goal is that no woman, regardless of race, would die of cervical cancer, which is preventable through education, vaccination and annual screenings. We have a lot of tools to fight this, but sadly over 4,000 women still die of it every year in the United States," Dr. Schmidt-Grimminger said.
The $50,000 Community-Based Participatory Research Grant awarded through the American Cancer Society will fund a pilot project involving the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe in north central South Dakota. Other important partners in this project are the Aberdeen Area Tribal Chairmen's Health Board and the University of Nebraska Medical Center. The first half of the two-year grant will fund a study using community based meetings and focus groups to help determine what types of messages or events would best connect with the Cheyenne River population. Tribal leadership has approved and strongly supports efforts to better women's heath in this community.
The second year will involve developing and implementing new and different HPV vaccine intervention strategies to increase knowledge about HPV, cervical cancer and the benefit of the new HPV vaccines, as well as cervical cancer screening among the Cheyenne River people.
Dr. Schmidt-Grimminger explained that communication strategies which are very effective among mostly white populations may not translate or reach the Native American communities. "We have to come up with new and more cultural sensitive communication strategies or approaches. One possible mode of communication is artwork," he said. Chholing Taha of Tacoma, Wash., in cooperation with Dr. Schmidt-Grimminger has created images which tell a story emphasizing the importance of HPV prevention to the future of the Native American people. "Native American people are very visual, and this new type of approach could play an important role in effectively communicating a message of cancer prevention."
"The project is designed to help the community make an informed decision regarding the implementation of activities which will increase the use of HPV vaccine thereby reducing cervical disease and the cervical cancer burden in this population. We hope to use the findings and methodology of this project to conduct a larger scale HPV cancer prevention project in all of the Northern Plains tribal communities and other community-based intervention programs." Dr. Schmidt-Grimminger said.
While medical expertise and technology get better and better at fighting cancer, the best defenses are prevention and early detection, said Kris Gaster, assistant vice president of outpatient cancer clinics at the Avera Cancer Institute. "The discovery that most cervical cancer is linked to HPV makes it very preventable through vaccination and the long-standing screening tool of annual Pap smears makes it very treatable if detected early," Gaster said. "Every population group should benefit from the medical advancements that have been realized in preventing deaths from this particular type of cancer."
In fact, nationwide, deaths from cervical cancer have steadily declined in recent decades thanks to prevention and screening. "We know screening works," said Jill Ireland of the American Cancer Society. "Most cervical cancers develop slowly, so the good news is, nearly all cases can be prevented if a woman is screened regularly."
This project will become one of more than 50 studies under way through the Avera Research Institute, a department of Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center. "The Avera Research Institute is involved in a wide array of studies, from basic scientific research, to applied research, to clinical drug trials. Our goal is to make a lasting contribution to the science of medicine, and ultimately improve the health and quality of life of the communities we serve," said David Kuper, executive director of the Avera Research Institute. "This project will promote prevention and improved health among a very specific population, and we're excited to be a part of it."
