Project FAROS
Facilitated Assistance,
Research & Outreach Services (FAROS)
Research indicates that many Latinos are not screened for cancer as often as other populations. Providing cancer education, screening and treatment information can diminish fears and facilitate a smoother experience navigating through the health care system. From 2006 through 2010, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services funded the Cancer Prevention and Treatment Demonstration (CPTD) project, to assess the costs and benefits of cancer screening and “patient navigation” services for Medicare beneficiaries who are part of an ethnic minority population (African American, Latino, Native American, and Asian/Pacific Islander).
After being selected as one of six national CPTD sites, the Center for Research on Minority Health (now known as the Dorothy I. Height Center for Health Equity & Evaluation Research, DH-CHEER,) implemented the Facilitated Assistance Research and Outreach Services (FAROS) Project. We enrolled almost 2,400 Latino Medicare beneficiaries in Houston/Harris County and surrounding counties. Our staff served as “navigators” by informing FAROS participants and their caregivers about cancer screening; arranged cancer screening appointments for mammograms, pap tests, colonoscopies and prostate exams; and addressed barriers to obtaining health care services. Outreach and recruitment activities included visits to health fairs, community centers, weekend festivals, radio and television talk shows, churches, and public libraries and learning centers.
Note: The FAROS project is now closed, and participants are no longer being recruited. Data analysis will be available at a later date. We sincerely appreciate those who participated in the project and thank our community partners for their efforts to make the project such a success. For more information, please call Caren Blinka at 713-563-2764 or email her at cblinka@mdanderson.org.