The National Physician and Family Referral (NPFR) Project is a division of 50 Hoops National Prostate Cancer Tournaments and Health Fairs, a 501c3 organization. NPFR develops seminars, lecture series and coalitions of African American leaders for various diseases.

In 2000, through a two year $500,000 grant from Pfizer, NPFR collaborated with the National Human Genome Center at Howard University, to develop a prototype for addressing critical health issues (diabetes, asthma, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, stroke prevention, obesity, cholesterol, prostate cancer and colon cancer, HIV-AIDS) in communities with high percentages of African Americans and underserved.

NPFR's four-year data clearly defines critical diseases, which affect African Americans.  And it is because of this data that its outreach has evolved. NPFR has developed an "in your face" approach to Urban health education and outreach, which is unmatched in both outreach and scope by any other organization targeting African Americans. Our partnerships with hospitals, disease-based organizations, celebrities, labor forces, Statewide African American expos and conventions, allows us to communicate effectively among these networks.

The NPFR Project looks to address a broad scope of education and outreach about diseases affecting baby boomers and African Americans.

NPFR collaborates and partners with African American conference and convention events focused on reducing racial and health disparities in African Americans and ethnic minorities. Going a step further, the Survival Guide Seminar Series has helped to form ongoing coalitions to continue the educational process uniting local community, civic, medical, religious and corporate-based groups.

In its work with the National Human Genome Center at Howard University, NPFR has developed hundreds of African American network partnerships; identified African American physicians related to prostate cancer, asthma, breast cancer, hypertension/cholesterol, diabetes and HIV. It offers customized health events that impact African American culture on all levels, addresses the dynamics in ethnic disease education through media and events developed and partnered.

In any given year, NPFR can reach over 10 million African Americans through one of its media partners, Radio-ONE, the largest African American radio station in the United States. Events such as the Survivor Guide Series:  "Prostate Cancer 101 Dinner Lecture Series,” and Fabulous 50 to SEXY at 60 the Baby Boomer Series “has toured four cities and established three offshoot coalitions on African Americans and prostate cancer.

The NPFR “Survival Guide Series: Prostate Cancer 101” produced the first Prostate Cancer Coalition of African American Networks (PC CAN) which began in 2004 in Detroit, MI. Collaborating with the American Cancer Society, AARP and Karmanos Cancer Center. This Call to Action model was the first direct community partnership and engagement of community, medical, scientific and human genome research that, over the last four years, has translated into an explosive benefit to prostate cancer education in these communities. Another lecture series, “Fabulous 50 to SEXY at 60” addressed other diseases which affect African Americans. Both series has roots in Dallas, Savannah, Detroit and St. Louis, focusing on diseases that critically affect African Americans, and surveying individuals on their attitudes and knowledge.

NPFR is constantly exploring ways to help build solutions to disparities so that all people can take full advantage of newly researched, life-saving drugs.

Utilizing the vast network created by 50 Hoops over the past 10 years, NPFR has in place, a national resource of support groups, survivors, physicians, hospitals and families of survivors, in order to continue to create small local consortiums within minority communities around the country.
 
With new partnerships and collaborations, the new strategy is for community and faith-based leaders to talk directly with medical professionals to help them assist the community with the acquisition of clinical resources for future community participation and engagement in clinical trials education.

The 2009-2012 community and media outreach includes focus on prevention, treatment options and clinical trial education as major parts of our educational process. Therefore, community participation in the educational process will be heavily addressed.

New RESOURCES, New FINDINGS:

In 2007 NPFR began working with the coveted National Baptist Congress and their convention that brings together nearly 90,000 participants annually from across the country. Church sizes range from small (200 – 500 members) to MEGA churches (10,000 - 20,000 members). 

In 2007 and 2008 NPFR orchestrated the diabetes, hypertension, cholesterol and prostate cancer screening of the delegates for the first time in the organization’s 100-year history. NPFR and P&E Associates also took surveys of participant demographics, need for disease education, family disease history, attitude about clinical trials, circumstances under which they would participate and personal need for health-related events and information on critical diseases.

The National Baptist Congress audience is one of the most diverse African American audiences, yet the answers related to disease knowledge and clinical trials were very similar. The National Baptist Congress’ health education initiative and disease screening marked a milestone for them.

Surveys were taken of over 1200 attendees.  Strong opinions and important health needs were expressed by these samplings of this powerful organization that supports more disease-related and clinical trials educational outreach.  This led to a needs assessment by NPFR and P&E Associates, resulting in this proposal.

Link to survey

NPFR Surveys:
Grass-roots knowledge-base outreach and education are key to eliminating racial disparities in medical care and in clinical trials. Our surveys gauge disease knowledge, demographics of audience, what they know and attitudes about  health disparities, clinical trials  and what may be needed in the community to improve health education.

NPFR Event Development
We seize every opportunity every opportunity to either partner with a local community or faith-based organization or to singularly develop a project for patient education.  This can take the form of:

  • Patient Education events (box luncheon, picnic, lunch hour workshops, etc.)
  • Physician/patient exchange or gathering to introduce patients to  doctors,  educate about clinical trials or bring them up-to-date information about  new  medicines and technology.

Surveys are conducted at all NPFR events
 and are designed to gauge effectiveness of your presence and to evaluate the program.

NPFR Partnerships with National Minority Health Fairs

NATIONAL MINORITY HEALTH FAIRS project is part of the (NPFR) Project and P&E Associates’ national health education outreach collaboration.  These events, with our national partnerships, foster increased understanding of diseases that critically affect African Americans and Minorities.  The health fairs focus upon health issues that address disparities in health care and contribute to the improvement of patient care—from the ground up -- through disease education.

50 Hoops and
National Physician and Family Partners:
Prostate Cancer Coalition of African American Networks (PC CaAn)

  • American Cancer Society (Local/Regional)
  • AARP (Local/Regional/National)
  • 100 Black Men (Local/Regional)
  • Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity (Local/Regional)
  • Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity (Local/Regional)
  • Us TOO (Local/Regional/National)
  • Prostate Cancer Coalitions (Local/Regional/National)
  • National Black Leadership Initiative On Cancer  (NBLIC III)
  • LINKS, Inc
  • Real Men Cook Charities
  • National Medical Association (NMA)
  • Missouri Black Expo
  • Los Angeles Black Expo
  • Indiana Black Expo
  • National Alliance of Black School Educators
  • National Missionary Baptist Conventions
  • American Diabetes Association
  • American Heart Association
  • Pan Hellenic Council of African American Greek Organizations
  • National Baptist Convention (over 15 million parishioners in over 20,000 churches)
  • National Baptist Congress of Christian Education (contributors to online health newsletter)

NPFR Affiliate Programs

CBO Coalition: if you are a member of an African American organization with health focused activities, and would be interested in partnering with 50 Hoops or NPFR for an event in your city

PC CaAN (Prostate Cancer Coalition of African American Networks):
If you are a member of:

[ ] Alpha Kappa Alpha
[ ] Alpha Phi Alpha
[ ] Delta Sigma Theta
[ ] Eta Phi Beta
[ ] Kappa Alpha Psi
[ ] Omega Psi Phi
[ ] Sigma Gamma Rho
[ ] Zeta

or...
[ ] National or Regional Business & Professional Organization

or, if you are planning an

[ ] Expo and Convention:

Contact us (local, regional, national), to help develop a prostate cancer or cancer event or program, utilizing our national and regional partners.
(link to book an event).

* Cancer Awareness Basketball Tournament (link to book a tournament)
* Dinner Lecture Series (link to book a dinner lecture)
* Survivor Guide Seminar (contact us link)
* Health Educational Outreach (contact us link)
* Prostate Cancer Health Fairs (contact us link)

Corporate opportunities:

For Medical Clinical Trials, Pharmaceutical Patient Outreach