Department of Public Health Sciences
Dr. Cathy Melvin receives new funding
Dr. Cathy Melvin is Co-Investigator on Two New Grants
|R21: Physical Activity to Reduce Joint Pain during Aromatase Inhibitor Therapy|
Via Contract with UNC – Chapel Hill, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center
Funding from the National Cancer Institute/NIH
Dr. Melvin is Co-Investigator and Dr. Leigh Callahan of the UNC Thurston Arthritis Center is the PI.
For post-menopausal women diagnosed with hormone-receptor positive breast cancer tumors, aromatase inhibitors (AIs) are the standard adjuvant hormone treatment to prolong disease-free survival and time-to-recurrence. Unfortunately, joint pain/stiffness/achiness (arthralgia) is a common side-effect of AIs. This “proof-of-concept” study explores how an evidence-based physical activity (PA) program – the Arthritis Foundation’s Walk With Ease program – can be adapted for breast cancer survivors on AI therapy to: (1) help them maintain or achieve recommended levels of PA, (2) reduce their joint pain/stiffness/achiness, and (3) thereby enable to them to remain on AI therapy as prescribed.
R24: West Philadelphia Consortium to Address Disparities – Phase 3
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of alternate strategies for disseminating and implementing our risk education protocols among community-based organizations and residents as part of an established academic-community partnership. In this study, we will determine if African American residents in the Philadelphia metropolitan area who receive targeted community-based dissemination strategies about research results report a) improved individual knowledge and/or adoption of positive health behaviors and b) increased levels of trust and/or willingness to participate in research. We will also evaluate which of two dissemination strategies (e.g., informational workshops alone or informational workshops accompanied by ongoing technical assistance) is more effective for increasing adoption of risk education programs among community-based organizations in the Philadelphia metropolitan area.