CDC’s National Networks Driving Action: Preventing Tobacco- and Cancer-Related Health Disparities by Building Equitable Communities

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The Division of Cancer Prevention and Control (DCPC) and the Office of Smoking and Health (OSH) seek to fund a consortium of population-specific, public health-oriented, national networks to impact tobacco-related and cancer health disparities among specific populations through a collaborative NOFO.  These national networks will work to enhance collaboration among the National Tobacco Control Program (NTCP), National Comprehensive Cancer Control Program (NCCCP), and other state and community program/partner/stakeholder and partners with the goals of leveraging and pooling resources, supporting those groups in advancing health equity, and increasing implementation of culturally appropriate interventions deployed through a health equity lens(e.g. intervention development, implementation, and evaluation).  Program activities will be purposefully aligned with CDC/NCCDPHP Health Equity and Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) priority areas, and both OSH and DCPC priorities. They will address the unique need for population-specific capacity and infrastructure to support prevention and control of commercial tobacco use and cancer control strategies. They will promote access to tobacco cessation services, cancer prevention, and treatment and survivor resources for populations experiencing disparities. The complex interaction of multiple factors (e.g., socioeconomic status, cultural characteristics, acculturation, inequitable policy implementation and enforcement, stress) and generations of unfair and unjust policies and practices, including the tobacco industry’s aggressive target marketing to certain people and communities, have led to longstanding disparities related to tobacco product initiation, use, and cessation as well as secondhand smoke exposure.  The same factors also contribute to cancer-related disparities such as socioeconomic status, cultural characteristics, diet, and access to healthcare services. Continued efforts to address the unique need for population-specific capacity and infrastructure to support tobacco and cancer control strategies and promote access to tobacco cessation services, cancer prevention, and treatment and survivor resources for populations experiencing disparities are necessary. Culturally tailored approaches for specific populations, with consideration given to intersectional characteristics of different populations, should help prevent additional disparities and accelerate the elimination of existing disparities, thus achieving the benefits of an overall population-based approach to commercial tobacco use prevention and control. Successful tobacco control strategies will lead to decreases in new cancers and cancer deaths. Current national and state surveillance systems and data reporting systems will be used to demonstrate and quantify impact for targeted outcome indicators.

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