In 2003, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) funded four Centers of Excellence in Cancer Communication Research (CECCR). The mission of the Effects of Public Information in Cancer (EPIC) CECCR is to study the complex public information environment around cancer and how that affects behavioral choices that people make relevant to cancer. The EPIC CECCR brings together scholars at the University of Pennsylvania from the Annenberg School for Communication, Abramson Cancer Center, School of Medicine and the Wharton School. Drawing from this broad range of disciplinary backgrounds, the EPIC CECCR seeks new knowledge about cancer communication and develops and tests interventions to enhance cancer-related behavior.

A study conducted by EPIC Researcher Jeff Niederdeppe, PhD, a Robert Wood Johnson Health and Society Scholar at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, was recently featured in a press release picked up by many news sources including HealthDay, Forbes, Discovery Health, CNN, CBS, WebMD, and the Washington Post. In this study, Dr. Niederdeppe and his co-author examined the associations between fatalistic beliefs about cancer and prevention behaviors with a national sample of American adults. Data were analyzed from the first wave of the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS 2003). “We found that almost half of the American public believes that 'it seems that almost everything causes cancer,' about 1 in 4 feel there's not much one can do to lower the chances of getting cancer, and 3 out of 4 felt there were so many recommendations, it's hard to know which ones to follow," said Dr. Niederdeppe. For more on this study, click here.

The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) selected the EPIC Center’s study on Human Papillomavirus (HPV) as one of 3 studies featured at a press conference at its 5th Annual Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Conference. This research was based off a module added to the Annenberg National Health Communication Survey (ANHCS) that sought to understand the effects of information framing on beliefs of HPV disease susceptibility and intentions to vaccinate self or female children. This study involved a collaboration of EPIC researchers including Amy Leader, Judith Weiner, Bridget Kelly, Cabral Bigman, Stacy Gray, Robert Hornik, and Joseph Cappella. The press conference, titled “New Vaccines to Prevent Cancer,” was held on November 12, 2006 in Boston, Mass. Following the press conference, the study was featured on over 40 websites as well as in the Washington Post. For more information and results from the HPV study click here.