The Pennsylvania Department of Health, and researchers at the Drexel University School of Public Health, were recently awarded First Place for a poster presentation of their cancer education research. The award was given by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Comprehensive Cancer Control Program.
The poster, "Proximal Impact of the Pennsylvania Cancer Education Network," was presented at the April 2009 National Comprehensive Cancer Control Director's Meeting in Atlanta. The poster shows significant proximal impact on subjects' knowledge, attitudes about cancer and their intention to be screened for cancer. Subjects were educated about colorectal, prostate, skin and ovarian cancers through the Pennsylvania Cancer Education Network (PCEN), a flagship program of the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The researchers concluded that similar programs may contribute to chronic disease prevention and health promotion in other states.
Barbara Bowman, PhD, Acting Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, presented the award to Lisa Ulmer, MSW, ScD, a department chair at the Drexel University School of Public Health, and Kathleen Zitka, RN, MBA, Chief of the Comprehensive Cancer Control Section of the Pennsylvania Department of Health, at the poster session of the annual Comprehensive Cancer Control director’s meeting.
The PCEN is a program of the Pennsylvania Department of Health dedicated to public education about cancer. The program translates the science of cancer prevention to statewide practice through a public-academic participatory partnership. PCEN joins local health departments from across the state and six regional health district contractors. The Drexel University School of Public Health serves as the network evaluator.
The PCEN team members at Drexel University include faculty, staff and students, including: Dr. Ulmer; Jamiliyah Gilliam, MS, research coordinator; Hamad Sindhi, MS, research coordinator; Xiaohua Tony Hu, PhD, the founding director of the Data Mining and Bioinformatics Lab; Palakorn Achananuparp, MS, College of Information Science and Technology; Longjian Liu, MD, MSC, PhD, an epidemiology and biostatistics professor; Augusta M. Villanueva, PhD, a professor of community health and prevention; Zekarias Berhane, PhD, an epidemiology and biostatistics professor; and Anthony Molisani, BS. This project is funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Health and through a grant the Pennsylvania Department of Health receives from the CDC.