# Constructing a Relational Bridge to Achieve High-Quality Prostate Cancer Care for African Americans

> **NIH NIH K01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · 2020 · $184,680

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Prostate cancer (PCa) imposes a disproportionate burden on African American men, who have a 63% higher
incidence, are more often diagnosed with aggressive disease, and have more than twice the mortality rate of
White men. Among the causes of excess mortality is failure to receive definitive treatment (e.g., surgery and
radiation) when it would be most beneficial (under-treatment). In addition, over-treatment of low-risk disease
(therapies that may not be beneficial yet have serious side effects) contributes to disparities in quality of life, as
African American men report more treatment-related side effects that translate to lower quality of life. All of
these disparities are most pronounced among low income African American men, many of whom have low
health literacy, and receive treatment in low resource settings (e.g., public hospitals and other safety net
systems), underscoring the need for targeted research in this setting. PCa treatment options present daunting
communication challenges even for high literacy patients, as there are complex trade-offs between survival
and quality of life that are very personal. To mitigate this perfect storm of complex treatment options and
constraints in communication, we will construct a relational bridge between low income African American men
and equal PCa treatment by anchoring the evidence-based intervention of peer navigation in the relational
concept of African American brotherhood as a means to foster trust and empowerment, and thus to optimize
patient-centered communication and quality of care. Our specific aims are to: (1) develop a multi-dimensional
understanding of current PCa care and treatment decision processes among African American safety net
patients; (2) adapt an existing peer navigation intervention to empower African American PCa patients as
partners in high quality patient-centered PCa care; and (3) pilot test the adapted peer navigation protocol for
feasibility and acceptability, and for impact on patient centeredness and treatment chosen. This K01 project will
have significant impact by directly targeting multiple elements of PCa treatment quality in a single integrated
approach. The candidate, Nynikka Palmer, DrPH, MPH, is an Assistant Professor in General Internal Medicine
at San Francisco General Hospital, University of California, San Francisco with secondary appointments in the
Departments of Urology and Radiation Oncology. With support from an exceptional mentoring team, and
execution of interconnected training and research activities, Dr. Palmer will carry out formal coursework,
independent mentored learning, and experiential learning that converge around three key topics: (1) depth in
cultural understanding and methods via ethnography, (2) patient-centered health communication intervention
development and implementation, and (3) design and conduct of randomized controlled trials. This K01 project
will facilitate Dr. Palmer's long-term career goal to bec...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9999298
- **Project number:** 5K01CA211965-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO
- **Principal Investigator:** Nynikka Palmer
- **Activity code:** K01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $184,680
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-09-01 → 2022-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9999298

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9999298, Constructing a Relational Bridge to Achieve High-Quality Prostate Cancer Care for African Americans (5K01CA211965-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9999298. Licensed CC0.

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