How long have you been a member of AACE?
I was an early CPEN member (over 20 years) and became involved in AACE over 12 years ago.
What is your current position and where do you work?
My current position is Senior Member and Professor at Moffitt Cancer Center at the University of South Florida, located in Tampa, Florida within the Division of Population Science in the Health Outcomes and Behavior Program. My research interests include: health disparities, community engaged methods, health literacy, cancer communications and cancer research education and training.
How long have you been doing research in the field of cancer education?
Over 3 decades - A long time!
How did your interest in the field of cancer education begin?
I started out my career in clinical nursing by working as a cardiac nurse in a community hospital on the telemetry unit. I was asked to teach a 4 part- cardiac class. This experience gave me my first real taste of patient education, and was instrumental in cultivating my interest in health education. It quickly helped me understand that engaging methods (such as using the heart and food models) and figuring out how to convey complex words in simple ways were essential in education.
Describe some of your research as it relates to cancer education?
My next role took me to a large public/county hospital where I worked as a clinical nurse specialist in medical nursing. During that time, I was given the opportunity to create the hospital’s first patient/community education program which included putting into place a Health Education Center. This allowed me to build on my initial interests in patient education and move these interests into developing a systematic plan for the delivery of patient and community education. It also afforded me the opportunity to host a cable TV health show – this experience ignited my interests in the media as a logical way to communicate health information to the public. At this time, I began collaborating with physicians and nurses in cancer-related research (smoking cessation, colorectal cancer and prostate cancer). As part of these initial studies, I found my cancer education niche that is, developing educational interventions (many which were printed and/or digital). We were trying to answer such questions as: how do patients like to receive information? Which combination of methods might best influence cancer screening behaviors? What would be the effect of simplifying information on smoking knowledge and behavior?
Can you talk a little about some of the studies that you’ve done or been a part of related to your work in health literacy and cancer education?
My current research at Moffitt draws from these prior experiences and aims to find ways to impact behaviors across the cancer prevention continuum. For example, studies that improve colorectal cancer screening rates in community clinics, seek to understand community members’ understandings toward participation in biospecimen-related research, reduce stress for Latinas starting chemotherapy through self-administered training programs; or create patient navigation models for care to name a few. This work is firmly grounded in the development of interventions that consider the intersection of culture and health literacy as a means to create effective and acceptable interventions. Our team carries out a number of formative and pretesting steps to ensure that these important constructs are part of all studies!
What motivates you to continue to do research in cancer education?
Great question. My motivation to keep carrying our research in cancer education that provides useful and valuable information for patients, families and community members, and that help them make decisions about their health and cancer care. Today, there are many options for receiving information especially via technologies - this is one of the most fertile areas for cancer education research. But, whether information is delivered one-on-one, through print or through m-health, figuring out the precise ‘communication recipe’ is still rewarding. I think the ongoing excitement for cancer educators is to find out how the ingredients individually and collectively come together to make an impact.
Do you have any advice for individuals interested in pursuing a career in cancer education?
Some advice . . .
- First, find 1 or 2 great mentor(s) to share their lessons learned with you. Locate mentors in a variety of ways, such as at meetings, through email communications, or perhaps right in your own neighborhood. Remember, mentors don’t need to be only senior faculty, but may include your peers or others in related or unrelated fields (both lay and professional). Importantly, be open to ‘lots of feedback.’
- Volunteer and get involved in community service. One of my most memorable experiences was initiating and serving as the facilitator for an ALS (Lou Gehrig’s) disease support group for patients/families/caregivers. For 10 years, I learned about this challenging and difficult disease (both physically and emotionally). But, I also became aware of their many strengths and attributes - and to this day, I try to be cognizant of the strengths of patients, families and community members that are involved in our research studies.
- Seek out, search for, and sift through available educational activities, trainings and internship opportunities – you will meet interesting people, learn new skills, polish your communications, and advance your sphere of networking possibilities. Share your talents with others and don’t be shy about stating what they are. Also, self-reflect on areas that you want to enhance.
- Find time for yourself whether it is sports, yoga, or reading. Give time to yourself to think– I find that new and fresh ideas often emerge on my long walks.
- I would be remiss if I did not make mention of the importance of Cancer, Culture and Literacy in cancer education. Go CCL!!
- Last, know that cancer education is one of the most rewarding fields – where else can you make a profound difference in the lives of patients, families and communities through your communications?