Deborah O. Erwin, PhD is the Director of Cancer Health Disparities at Roswell Park Cancer Institute. This department is focused on ways to help individuals navigate health care situations.

Most recently, Dr. Erwin received an American Cancer Society $1.8 million grant to to investigate the effectiveness of an innovative intervention model, Esperanza y Vida [Hope and Life], in reaching members of the Latino population to increase breast and cervical screening behaviors. Click to read the full article from the American Cancer Society.  This is the largest grant by the ACS.

The Esperanza y Vida program will address Latino men and women in rural and urban settings via educational sessions presented in Spanish. Presentations will feature a cancer survivor telling her story to counter the “death sentence” aspect of cancer, and to acknowledge the importance of spiritual concerns for Latinas. Latino men are being included in these sessions as both health educators and participants to increase their knowledge and understanding of these women’s health issues and to emphasize the importance of keeping women healthy for the good of the entire family.

The researchers hope to determine if participants will be more likely to obtain breast and cervical screening after attending the program, and also to determine the impact of this intervention on specific demographic and social factors, beliefs, and/or access issues that are associated with screening. For more information about this program, please read the press release.

Click here to read a complete list of outreach activities.