About the Applied Research Program

Overview

The Applied Research Program (ARP) is one of five programs in the National Cancer Institute's (NCI's) Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences (DCCPS).

The Applied Research Program's mission is to understand how and why cancer care and control activities in the United States influence patterns of care and trends in cancer incidence, morbidity, mortality and survival. Pursuit of this mission is possible through ARP's support of methodologic research to improve survey data collection and evaluation of existing data collected through grants, contracts, NCI divisions, and other agencies. These data are used to evaluate patterns and trends in cancer-associated health behaviors and risk factors, health care services, economics, and outcomes, including patient-reported outcomes.

ARP & Its Branches

ARP supports research and evaluation activities in three branches:

• Health Services and Economics Branch. Focuses on the study of cancer-related health services.
• Risk Factor Monitoring and Methods Branch. Focuses on monitoring of cancer-related health behaviors and risks in populations.
• Outcomes Research Branch. Focuses on cancer outcomes measurement, analysis, and improvement.

The Office of the Associate Director sets Program priorities, determines ARP resource use and staff responsibilities, and carries out initiatives that support the mission of the ARP within the DCCPS.

Areas of Research

Research supported by ARP is targeted to:

• Monitoring risk and health behaviors and developing methods to assess these behaviors.
• Improving methods for assessing cancer-relevant exposures.
• Monitoring cancer screening behaviors in populations.
• Examining the dissemination of cancer treatment in populations.
• Advancing methods and systems for measuring and monitoring quality of cancer care.
• Estimating cost and benefit of cancer interventions at the population level.
• Describing and understanding cancer-related health disparities.
• Improving methods for questionnaire design and testing.
• Improving dissemination of efficacious cancer control interventions.

Research in each area informs policy decisions in cancer prevention, treatment, and control. Staff also provide analytical support to other NCI cancer prevention and control research programs for NCI-wide program guidance, evaluation, and policy development.

Research Tools & Surveys

• SEER-Medicare Linked Database. SEER-Medicare data consist of a linkage of the clinical data collected by SEER registries with claims for health services collected by Medicare. These combined datasets can be used to assess patterns of care for persons with cancer, use of tests and procedures, and costs of treatment.
• Dietary Assessment Instruments. ARP has developed numerous tools for assessing dietary intakes for use in surveys and studies. These include those designed to capture total diet as well as short screeners.
• Tobacco Use Supplement to the Current Population Survey. This survey of tobacco use contains information on a nationally representative sample of about 240,000 individuals. The data have been used to monitor trends in tobacco use, conduct tobacco-related research, and evaluate tobacco control programs.
• Physician Surveys. The ARP tracks the use of screening modalities, therapies, new technologies, and other factors that may influence the national cancer burden. Staff periodically assess physician practice to see whether research findings are having the desired impact on physician knowledge and practice.
• National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) Cancer Control Supplement. ARP participates in the NHIS by providing questions for the survey on cancer risk factors and screening and by analyzing data upon completion of the national survey.

More detailed listings of Research Tools and Surveys are available.

Working With Us

The ARP welcomes the opportunity to explore our areas of research with a broad range of investigators. Some of the mechanisms used by scientists and students to work with us include NIH Training Programs such as the Cancer Research Training Award or the Division of Cancer Prevention Fellowship Program. ARP also works with NIH Guest Researchers and Special Volunteers for individuals who donate their time and gain research experience.

ARP funding mechanisms for cancer research include the full range of NIH mechanisms, including grants and contracts, educational training grants, small business innovation research grants, and cooperative agreements.

ARP currently has Program Announcements calling for applications in areas including:

• Geographic and Contextual Influences on Energy Balance-Related Health Behaviors
• Development, Application, and Evaluation of Prediction Models for Cancer Risk and Prognosis
• Understanding the Effects of Emerging Cellular, Molecular, and Genomic Technologies on Cancer Health Care Delivery
• The Effect of Racial and Ethnic Discrimination/Bias on Health Care Delivery
• Research on the Economics of Diet, Activity, and Energy Balance
• Diet & Physical Activity Assessment
• Cancer Surveillance Using Health Claims-Based Data System
• Methodology and Measurement in the Behavioral and Social Sciences
• Research on Improving Health Care for Obese Patients

Additional funding information is available.

Contact Information

See Contact Us for information on how to contact the Applied Research Program.