Improving health requires understanding and addressing the underlying factors, known as health drivers, that shape health outcomes. These include biological factors (e.g., genetic susceptibility, tumor biology, physiologic processes), demographics (e.g., age, sex, race/ethnicity), behavioral factors (e.g., tobacco use, diet, physical activity), environmental factors (e.g., geography, built environment, place), structural influences (e.g., resource access), and health care factors (e.g., access and quality of care). The conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age, known as social determinants of health (SDOH), are key drivers that interact with these biological, behavioral, environmental, and health care factors to shape cancer outcomes across population groups.
When health drivers create disadvantages, they can lead to health disparities, which are measurable differences in cancer-related outcomes such as incidence, mortality, and survivorship observed across population groups. Addressing these drivers requires multifactorial, multilevel efforts, including intervention research, cross-sector collaboration, and meaningful community engagement, with the goal of achieving optimal health for all.
Mission
- Promote and conduct research that identifies and addresses the structural, social, economic, cultural, psychological, behavioral, and biological mechanisms contributing to health disparities across the cancer control continuum.
- Understand the drivers in cancer, and develop and implement effective interventions that address them in an effort to achieve optimal health for all.
Goals
- Eliminate disparities in health outcomes through effective interventions.
- Improve health for all people by eliminating avoidable harmful drivers in health.