Addressing Health Disparities in Screening for Mouth and Throat Cancer

Mouth and throat cancer (MTC) is highly treatable if diagnosed early, and the vast majority of people diagnosed with early-stage MTC survive 5 years or more. However, survival drops dramatically if MTC is diagnosed late. Thus, early detection is essential for surviving MTC. Although Black and White men have similar rates of MTC, Black men die from MTC at almost twice the rate of White men. The difference in mortality appears due to disparities in screening. Dr. Shepperd has funding from NIH to examine barriers to screening for MTC among rural Black Americans.

The results of focus groups and survey research conducted by Dr. Shepperd suggest three broad barriers to screening for MTC among rural Black Americans. 

• Lack of Awareness of MTC – Most participants in the research have never heard of MTC; it is not on the radar. Those participants who had heard of MTC saw it as unimportant because physicians, news sources, and the health media seem not discuss or advocate screening for MTC. As one participant noted, she hears in the media about breast cancer, but never hears anyone talking about MTC.
• Lack of Resources – Participants in the research reported that a lack of resources would keep them from getting screened for MTC. These included a lack of money, insurance, time and transportation. 
• Fear – Participants voiced several types of fear that would keep them from getting screened for MTC. The fears included fear of the results, physicians, screening and coping with the diagnosis. 

The ultimate goal of the research is to increase screening for MTC among rural Black Americans. Dr. Shepperd is now developing a community intervention project that addresses the barriers he identified.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield Endowed Chair in Health Disparities Research

We are delighted to announce that Dr. Carolyn M. Tucker has been named the first Blue Cross and Blue Shield Endowed Chair in Health Disparities Research at the University of Florida. This is endowed by a $1.5M gift from Blue Cross and Blue Shield to the University of Florida. In this new role, Dr. Tucker will have the opportunity to guide UF’s cross-disciplinary work in health disparities, including work to transition the UF Health Disparities Research and Intervention Program to the status of a Center. The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida Endowed Chair in Health Disparities Research will be the face of health disparities research at the university and will be expected and encouraged to be the primary contact with key state and national legislators, federal funding agencies and state and national media on the subject, thus providing leadership not only to the University of Florida, but to the state and national community as well.

The health disparities effort at the University of Florida focuses on the successful translation of basic, clinical, and social-behavioral research into health promotion and prevention efforts to eliminate lifestyle-related health disparities. Using a culturally sensitive, health empowerment approach, faculty will endeavor to reduce health disparities in Florida by such activities as promoting healthy lifestyles (e.g., healthy eating, physical activity and stress management) and reducing health risk behaviors (e.g., smoking and treatment non-adherence) across the lifespan, particularly among members of racial or ethnic minority, low-income, medically underserved, and rural/urban at-risk communities in Florida.

The Happiness of Conservatives and Liberals

Political conservatives generally report greater satisfaction with life than political liberals. In a paper recently published in the Journal of Research in Personality, UF Psychology Professors John Chambers and Barry Schlenker and graduate student Bonnie Le, looked at personality characteristics and values of conservatives and liberals that may explain this happiness gap. Using survey data from both UF college students, and large-scale, nationally-representative samples of American adults, they found that conservatives report a stronger sense of personal responsibility and control, more positive outlook on life and greater feelings of self-worth, and greater moral transcendence (i.e., more traditional religious beliefs, more committed to universal moral principles, and less tolerant of moral transgressions) than liberals, even after controlling for demographic variables such as age, gender, education, and income level. These personality, value, and attitude differences each accounted for the happiness gap between conservatives and liberals. In addition, conservatives reported greater satisfaction than liberals in specific life domains (e.g., marriage, family life, job, health, and friendships), better mental health, and fewer mental and emotional problems. Their research suggests that conservatives have specific personality qualities that lend themselves to happiness and well-being, and challenges conventional psychological descriptions of conservatives as irrational, fearful, defensive, and motivated by feelings of threat and loss. To obtain a copy of the paper, email Dr. John Chambers ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. )