key: cord-0018747-mzyzz4rm
authors: Bishop, Maria Curcio
title: New Programs to Promote Global Cancer Education
date: 2021-07-02
journal: J Cancer Educ
DOI: 10.1007/s13187-021-02061-8
sha: 8743da5e1076ba1c97289d71b3b7dff9d54fdf2e
doc_id: 18747
cord_uid: mzyzz4rm

nan

The American Association for Cancer Education (AACE) was founded in 1947 and was originally known as the Cancer Coordinators. They were an association of cancer educators from US medical and dental schools who met annually. Over the years, the mission of the association has continued to be "to champion the highest standards for cancer education through evidence-based practices to achieve quality outcomes" [1] . The Journal of Cancer Education (JCE), the official journal of AACE and the European Association for Cancer Education (EACE), publishes cancer education manuscripts that promote enhancing current cancer education techniques; contribute to solving problems in educating patients, families, and communities; and strengthen existing education programs [2] . This body of knowledge supports both the AACE mission and vision to decrease the burden of cancer through education worldwide. I have been a member of AACE since 2004 and Editor-in-Chief of JCE since 2018. Since that time, I have had the privilege of witnessing the growth of the Association and Journal. The Journal has a global readership, and we receive manuscripts from authors around the world. The AACE membership also reflects our global involvement, and many new programs have been developed by both the AACE and the Journal.

The Academy of Fellows is a new AACE program. The goals of the Academy include working with the AACE Executive Council to identify trends in cancer education and training, steering advances in the field, fostering innovation and collaboration, supporting and mentoring peers and trainees, and enhancing the critical importance of cancer education and training in the rapidly changing cancer care environment [3] . Fellows include all AACE Past Presidents as well as educators who have both demonstrated a strong commitment to AACE and been recognized for their achievements in the field of cancer education. Fellows are selected through a peer-review process. Induction into the Academy is an honor and carries the responsibility of mentoring future and current cancer educators. The selection criteria for induction into the Academy include being a Past President of AACE or being a current AACE member in good standing who is nominated and selected based on the following criteria:

• Established record as a cancer educator • Effective mentor • Current contributor to the field of cancer education • Established leader of national or international organizations or committees • Demonstrated impact in multidisciplinary, interprofessional, or transprofessional educational endeavors • Sustained record of scholarship • Recipient of cancer education awards

The AACE website has current Fellow profiles. Based on prior mentoring opportunities, the Academy is working on evaluating and further developing a distant mentoring program that will continue to be available to AACE members and conference participants.

The Journal will also be including new features. Dr. Amr Soliman, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of International Submissions, is the Editor-in-Chief of the new Global Cancer Education Supplement. The supplement, which will soon be available online, includes manuscripts addressing such topics as building infrastructure for research training in global settings, capacity building, mentoring, cancer epidemiology education in global settings, field research, cancer and medical oncology education, professional education, and palliative care education in low-and middle-income countries.

Many of the manuscripts were written by AACE members and leaders in global cancer education. We are looking forward to sharing this with you. I would like to thank Dr. Soliman, his editorial team, and authors for all the effort they put into developing this supplement. In the past, supplements have been well received, and we look forward to offering more in the future.

In our April editorial, Dr. Meade and I introduced the new Focused Topic Section-Cancer, Culture, and Literacy. Two manuscripts have been featured in past editions; this edition will include a third. Our editorial invited authors to: …submit manuscripts of original research, best practices, and educational and technological innovations that illustrate dynamic examples of practice, research, theory-based interventions, and training efforts for current and prospective workforces in cancer health disparities. This is an opportunity to share local or global work that both illuminates the intersection of culture and literacy across the continuum of cancer care and embodies multidisciplinary collaboration and transdisciplinary team science. We are especially seeking scholarly works that address personal and interpersonal, structural, system, and social determinants of health that substantially contribute to health equity.

We are looking forward to receiving your submissions to this new section.

The AACE Membership Committee hosted the first Engagement Lounge in April 2020. Several other Engagement Lounges have followed, including a session organized by the Committee on April 28, 2021. The topic was "How in the World Do I Measure a Partnership?" In all, 81 attendees joined us on Zoom, and 4 others via Facebook Live. As this educational opportunity has been well received, future Engagement Lounges are anticipated. Please refer to the AACE website for future dates and topics.

The next International Cancer Education Conference (ICEC) will be held virtually in October 2021. The conference will be cohosted by AACE, the Cancer Patient Education Network (CPEN), and EACE and will offer continuing education credits for physicians, nurses, certified health education specialists (CHES), and social workers. The theme of this conference is "Integrating culture, spirituality, and social support into cancer education to improve health equity." Plenary lectures will include:

• I am very proud of the work that our global cancer education community is doing. During this very difficult time of the COVID-19 pandemic, new ways of engaging our communities and providing superior cancer education have emerged. As we begin to recover from the pandemic, I look forward to building upon these advances to enhance the quality of cancer education and reach out to more patients, families, communities, and educators worldwide. I wish you all a healthy and peaceful summer ahead.

American Association for Cancer Education home page

) European Association for Cancer Education home page