Partnering against cancer today: a blueprint for coordinating efforts through communication science

Contributions to Research and Practice Made by the National Cancer Institute's Health Communication and Informatics Research Branch

The Health Communication and Informatics Research Branch at the U.S. National Cancer Institute was founded in 1999 in response to increasing evidence demonstrating a link between effective health communication and improved cancer-related outcomes and in recognition of the rapid and dramatic technological changes that were transforming health communication at the turn of the 21st century. For the past 25 years, the Health Communication and Informatics Research Branch has been conducting and supporting research at the forefront of emerging cancer communication trends and technologies, making numerous contributions to health communication science, public health, and cancer control practice. In this essay, we provide a brief history of the branch and the context that led to its establishment, discuss contributions made by the branch to health communication research and practice through key projects and initiatives, and conclude by highlighting health communication and informatics research priorities that offer opportunities for significant impact going forward in light of the challenges posed by the current communication environment.

Multiple approaches to enhancing cancer communication in the next decade: translating research into practice and policy

Communicating risk and other health information in a clear, understandable, and actionable manner is critical for the prevention and control of cancer, as well as the care of affected individuals and their family members. However, the swift pace of development in communication technologies has dramatically changed the health communication landscape. This digital era presents new opportunities and challenges for cancer communication research and its impact on practice and policy. In this article, we examine the science of health communication focused on cancer and highlight important areas of research for the coming decade. Specifically, we discuss three domains in which cancer communication may occur: (a) among patients and their healthcare providers; (b) within and among families and social networks; and (c) across communities, populations, and the public more broadly. We underscore findings from the prior decade of cancer communication research, provide illustrative examples of future directions for cancer communication science, and conclude with considerations for diverse populations. Health informatics studies will be necessary to fully understand the growing and complex communication settings related to cancer: such works have the potential to change the face of information exchanges about cancer and elevate our collective discourse about this area as newer clinical and public health priorities emerge. Researchers from a wide array of specialties are interested in examining and improving cancer communication. These interdisciplinary perspectives can rapidly advance and help translate findings of cancer communication in the field of behavioral medicine.

Communication and comprehensive cancer control coalitions: lessons from two decades of campaigns, outreach, and training

PURPOSE

Comprehensive cancer control (CCC) coalitions and programs have delivered effective models and approaches to reducing cancer burden across the United States over the last two decades. Communication plays an essential role in diverse coalition activities from prevention to survivorship, including organizational and community capacity-building and as cancer control intervention strategies.

METHODS

Based upon a review of published CCC research as well as public health communication best practices, this article describes lessons learned to assist CCC coalitions and programs with systematic implementation of communication efforts as key strategies in cancer control.

RESULTS

Communication-oriented lessons include (1) effective communication work requires listening and ongoing engagement with key stakeholders, (2) communication interventions should target multiple levels from interpersonal to mediated channels, (3) educational outreach can be a valuable opportunity to bolster coalition effectiveness and cancer control outcomes, and (4) dedicated support is necessary to ensure consistent communication efforts.

CONCLUSIONS

External and internal communication strategies can optimize coalition efforts and resources to ultimately help produce meaningful improvement in cancer control outcomes.

Leveraging health informatics to foster a smart systems response to health disparities and health equity challenges

Informaticians are challenged to design health information technology (IT) solutions for complex problems, such as health disparities, but are achieving mixed results in demonstrating a direct impact on health outcomes. This presentation of collective intelligence and the corresponding terms of smart health, knowledge ecosystem, enhanced health disparities informatics capacities, knowledge exchange, big-data, and situational awareness are a means of demonstrating the complex challenges informatics professionals face in trying to model, measure, and manage an intelligent and smart systems response to health disparities. A critical piece in our understanding of collective intelligence for public and population health rests in our understanding of public and population health as a living and evolving network of individuals, organizations, and resources. This discussion represents a step in advancing the conversation of what a smart response to health disparities should represent and how informatics can drive the design of intelligent systems to assist in eliminating health disparities and achieving health equity.

Leveraging Social Media to Promote Public Health Knowledge: Example of Cancer Awareness via Twitter

Background

As social media becomes increasingly popular online venues for engaging in communication about public health issues, it is important to understand how users promote knowledge and awareness about specific topics.

Objective

The aim of this study is to examine the frequency of discussion and differences by race and ethnicity of cancer-related topics among unique users via Twitter.

Methods

Tweets were collected from April 1, 2014 through January 21, 2015 using the Twitter public streaming Application Programming Interface (API) to collect 1% of public tweets. Twitter users were classified into racial and ethnic groups using a new text mining approach applied to English-only tweets. Each ethnic group was then analyzed for frequency in cancer-related terms within user timelines, investigated for changes over time and across groups, and measured for statistical significance.

Results

Observable usage patterns of the terms "cancer", "breast cancer", "prostate cancer", and "lung cancer" between Caucasian and African American groups were evident across the study period. We observed some variation in the frequency of term usage during months known to be labeled as cancer awareness months, particularly September, October, and November. Interestingly, we found that of the terms studied, "colorectal cancer" received the least Twitter attention.

Conclusions

The findings of the study provide evidence that social media can serve as a very powerful and important tool in implementing and disseminating critical prevention, screening, and treatment messages to the community in real-time. The study also introduced and tested a new methodology of identifying race and ethnicity among users of the social media. Study findings highlight the potential benefits of social media as a tool in reducing racial and ethnic disparities.