The National Academies Testimony before Congress

Public Laws Containing Studies for the National Academies

Briefings to Congress

Congressionally Mandated Reports

Policy Statements and Historical Documents

The OCGA staff

INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE
Division of Health Sciences Policy
Committee on Cancer Research Among Minorities and the Medically Underserved

*****

Congressional Briefing
Wednesday, January 20, 1999 - 11:30 a.m.
1129 Longworth House Office Building

on

The Unequal Burden of Cancer:

An Assessment of NIH Research and Programs

for Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved

by

M. Alfred Haynes, M.D., M.P.H., Former President and Dean, Drew Postgraduate Medical School (Retired), Rancho Palos Verdes, California and Chair, Committee on Cancer Research Among Minorities and the Medically Underserved

Susan Scrimshaw, Ph.D., Dean, School of Public Health, and Professor of Community Health Sciences and Anthropology, University of Illinois at Chicago and Member, Committee on Cancer Research Among Minorities and the Medically Underserved

Gilbert Friedell, M.D., Director for Cancer Control, University of Kentucky Cancer Center, Lexington and Member, Committee on Cancer Research Among Minorities and the Medically Underserved

Despite the recent decline in cancer mortality in the United States, medically underserved individuals and some ethnic minorities continue to experience disproportionately high rates of cancer and are more likely to die once the disease develops. The reason for these disparities are not clear, but researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are increasingly being asked by Congress for answers.

In response to a congressional request in PL 104-208, a committee of the Institute of Medicine produced the report, The Unequal Burden of Cancer: An Assessment of NIH Research and Programs for Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved. The committee's charge was to 1) review the status of cancer research relative to minorities and the medically underserved at the various institutes, centers and divisions of The National Institutes of Health (NIH) to evaluate the relative share of resources allocated to the study of cancer among these populations, including a review of the NIH's ability to prioritize its cancer research agenda for minorities and the role of minority scientists in decisionmaking on research priorities; 2) examine how well research results are communicated and applied to cancer prevention and treatment programs for minorities and the medically underserved and the adequacy of understanding survivorship issues that uniquely impact on minority communities; 3) assess the adequacy of NIH procedures for equitable recruitment and retention of minorities in clinical trials; and 4) make recommendations on an annual reporting mechanism on the status of cancer research among minorities and the medically underserved at NIH.

This briefing was for Members of Congress and Congressional Staff only. The report was publicly released on January 20, 1999 and can be found, in its entirety, on the Web site of the National Academies Press.