Cancer and Oncology Research 1(2): 55-64, 2013 http://www.hrpub.org DOI: 10.13189/cor.2013.010206 Evaluation of Community-Based Projects to Reduce Cancer Disparities among Underrepresented Groups and Participants Satisfaction in Health Disparities Projects Saleh M.M. Rahman 1,* , Jay Brown 2 , Selina Rahman 3 , Helene Vilme 4 , Monica Hayes 5 1 Institute of Public Health, Florida A&M University, and, College of Medicine, Florida State University, 209-A FSH Science & Research Center, Tallahassee, FL 32307, United States 2 Institute of Public Health, Florida A&M University, Tallahassee, FL 32307, United States 3 TMH and FSU College of Medicine Internal Medicine Residency Program, Tallahassee, FL 32308, United States 4 Institute of Public Health, Florida A&M University, Tallahassee, FL 32307, United States 5 Office of Minority Health, Florida Department of Health, Tallahassee, FL 3230, United States *Corresponding Author: saleh.rahman@famu.edu Copyright © 2013 Horizon Research Publishing All rights reserved. Abstract Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States. The objectives of this study were to evaluate cancer prevention programs and participants satisfaction in 51 disparities projects in Florida. This three-phase evaluation included evaluability assessment, process, immediate outcome and impact evaluation using qualitative assessment, case study, document analysis, face-to-face interviews, and survey. In 2006-2007, a total of 3,165, and in 2008-2009, a total of 1,632 individuals participated in the programs respectively. In breast and cervical cancer prevention programs, change of proportion of African-American and Haitian recruitment significantly increased from 2006-2008 to 2007-2009 (-11.3 to 3.4). Among other services, all means of outreach such as mobile vans, faith-based activities, health fairs, and small-group education sessions also increased by 5.3%, 7.9%, 5.5%, and 9.4% respectively. In participants' satisfaction the majority of respondents (N=231) were 35-54 years old (46.7%), non-Hispanic Black (81.7%), female (70.3%), high school and some college educated (58.8%), and with income less than $25,000 (65.5%). The majority of the participants were very satisfied with the program staff’s training, cultural sensitivity, language skills, resources, education materials, referral system, and changing behavior (mean score: 4.5-4.7) and with the overall project and the project’s role in improving their quality of life. Keywords Cancer Disparities, Program Evaluation, Community-Based Programs, Closing The Gap, Underserved Population 1. Introduction Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States, surpassed only by cardiovascular diseases, being responsible for one in every four deaths. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that 567,614 people had died from cancer, and more than 1.48 million people were diagnosed with cancer in 2009 alone 1 . Smith estimated that the total projected cancer incidence will increase by approximately 45%, affecting 2.3 million people in the US by the year 2030 2 . The physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual tolls of cancer diagnoses on the survivor, their friends and family are incalculable but financial costs of cancer is overwhelming. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) estimated that cancer has cost the United States approximately $263.8 billion in medical costs and lost productivity in 2010 3 . The National Cancer Institute 3 (NCI) estimated that 1,660,290 people in the United States will be diagnosed with and 580,350 will die from cancer of all sites in 2013, narrowing the gap with the first place killer of cardiovascular disease. The Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Cancer Statistics Review inform us that the national median age at diagnosis for cancer of all sites was 66 years of age from 2006-2010 4 . The age-adjusted incidence rate was 463.0 per 100,000 people per year. The median age at death for cancer of all sites was 72 years of age for the same time period. The age-adjusted death rate was 176.4 per 100,000 people per year. The prevalence of cancer nationwide is also astonishing with approximately 13,027,914 people affected in 2010. That’s over 4.2% of the entire US population diagnosed with cancer. The SEER Program also calculated the lifetime risk of having cancer to be 41.24% based on rates from 2007-2009 4 . This means that 1 in 2 men and women will be diagnosed with some form of cancer at some point during their lifetime. These national trends are also reflected in the