National Hispanic Leadership Initiative on Cancer

NHLIC:
En Accion is considered the most extensive campaign ever waged to combat cancer in Hispanics.

NHLIC's culturally appropriate programs to reach and educate Latinos with cancer prevention and early detection messages have made a profound difference in many lives. The NHLIC efforts in this field will help us continue the battle against cancer.

-- Diane Feinstein U.S. Senator

The National Hispanic Leadership on Cancer: En Accion is a multi-risk cancer prevention and control assessment and community outreach program. Funded by the National Cancer Institute in 1992, the NHLIC: En Accion initiated the first comprehensive assessment of cancer risk factors among the major populations of Hispanic/Latino men and women in the United States.

The study was one of the first to use the same survey instrument to collect baseline, panel and follow-up research data on all the major U.S. Hispanic population groups. In its cancer control and prevention campaign, the study has applied a state-of-the-art mass media and interpersonal communications approach tailored to each of those diverse populations.

A unique feature is the use of everyday people from the communities in local television newscasts, radio programs and newspaper articles. These role models for positive health behaviors are profiled in the media, offering the public vital information in culturally appropriate words and actions. In addition, in each community, neighborhood volunteers have been recruited to distribute regularly produced newsletters that reinforce the role model messages that appear in the mass media.

This community outreach model, employing both mass media and interpersonal communications, has been successful in previous South Texas studies aimed at increasing cancer screening rates and reducing cancer risk behaviors in Mexican Americans. The goal of the NHLIC: En Accion is to determine if this model can be applied to diverse Hispanic populations and settings around the country.

Our apologies to the Spanish-speaking community. Because of the difference in computer platforms and formats, Spanish punctuation has had to be omitted. Spanish words and phrases within this site are therefore denoted by the use of italics.

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