The National Alliance for Hispanic Health (The Alliance) is implementing the Nuestras Voces (Our Voices) Network Program as part of a national network of organizations supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to impact the prevalence of commercial tobacco use and help achieve health equity in cancer prevention. Through the expansion of multisector networks and public health strategies, Nuestras Voces is addressing the threats of commercial tobacco use and the impact on cancer prevalence, with a particular focus on reducing disparities in underserved Hispanic communities.
To achieve these goals, the Nuestras Voces Network is working to increase partnerships and meaningful collaboration between CDC-funded state cancer control programs, community organizations serving the Hispanic community, national organizations, and other networks, to improve cancer prevention and control among Hispanics.
In 2018, the Nuestras Voces Network joined us as a partner on our XRAY Program Steering Committee. The program provides plain language summaries of new cancer research reported in the media, as an effort to help people understand the meaning of the science and how it impacts their health. XRAY also teaches people how to distinguish real advances in cancer research from media hype. The partnership with the Nuestras Voces Network is instrumental in helping FORCE reach Hispanic communities with culturally proficient and language appropriate cancer-related information. Together, we are able to deliver accurate and reliable life-saving information about hereditary cancer and how to look behind media headlines to learn the facts about cancer.
Marcela Gaitán, Nuestras Voces Program Director, who is an enthusiastic supporter of XRAY and the partnership with FORCE, said, “Our community is often bombarded with media coverage related to hereditary cancer risk and susceptibility. Without guidance, it can be hard to separate facts from misinformation. This program helps improve people’s health literacy and empowers them to make informed medical decisions.”
Nuestras Voces Network has helped expand the reach of XRAY and hereditary cancer information to Hispanic communities in several ways including:
- Helping FORCE develop tailored cancer-related information for Hispanics.
- Assisting with Spanish language adaptations and translations.
- Disseminating XRAY reviews and FORCE information through the Nuestras Voces Network and Alliance partners.
- Supporting the work of FORCE partners who are conducting hereditary cancer research (e.g. the WISDOM study)
Over the next few years, we will continue to expand this important partnership by adapting more XRAY reviews into Spanish, disseminating them through the Nuestras Voces Network, and providing tips and presentations on finding trusted and reliable information on cancer risk and prevention, to be used for community education activities by promotores de salud (community health workers).