Im and Chee Submit NIH R01 Application

Kudos to Eun-Ok Im  and Wonshik Chee (MPI) and their entire team for the submission of their NIH R01 application entitled "For Better Cancer Pain Management of Breast Cancer Survivors: Four Major Racial/Ethnic Groups in the U.S." This proposal requests funding for a five-year period with a start date of July 1, 2018. 

Racial/ethnic minority breast cancer survivors reportedly have lower quality of life as well as higher relative risks and lower five-year survival rates compared with Whites. A major reason for their lower quality of life is postulated as inadequate management of pain. Indeed, many racial/ethnic minorities tend to suffer unnecessarily from pain that could be easily managed using currently existing pain management strategies. Their cultural values, beliefs, and attitudes have been pointed out as a primary barrier to their adequate pain management. However, survivorship programs that are increasingly instituted at cancer centers have serious impediments to providing information and coaching/support related to cancer pain management because of the lack of staff time and insurance reimbursement. Furthermore, the pressure of fast-paced clinical patient-provider interactions leaves little time for health care providers to provide up-to-date information and coaching or support for these women based on their cultural attitudes. All these circumstances necessitate an innovative and creative delivery method of information and coaching/support. A technology-based approach using computers and mobile devices promises to meet this necessity with high flexibility and accessibility, and minimizes the cost of the intervention in busy health care settings.

Thus, based on preliminary studies, the research team has developed and pilot-tested a technology-based information and coaching/support program (with multiple innovative features) for cancer pain management that is tailored to four major racial/ethnic groups (non-Hispanic [NH] White, Hispanic, NH African American, and NH Asian) of breast cancer survivors (TIPAM). The purpose of the proposed randomized intervention study is to test the efficacy of TIPAM in improving cancer pain experience of breast cancer survivors from four major racial/ethnic groups in the U.S. (non-Hispanic [NH] White, Hispanic, NH African American, and NH Asian).