As shown by incorporating this concept in our network name, we strongly believe that every person can take their health in their own hands and embrace behaviors that can make an immediate and long-term impact.

“Self Made” is a phrase popularized over 120 years ago by Frederick Douglass’ Self-Made Men speech, which stresses the capability to impact your destiny under your own power despite the situation you are in.icon9

As network members, we aim to be present to encourage, guide and support those that choose to start a journey towards a healthier self. Our network goals and objectives reflect this objective.

Goals & Activities:

  • Create a framework that supports networks and communities via resource sharing aimed at increasing knowledge, attitudes, practices and access that influence the adoption of preventive and care-seeking behaviors (e.g. tobacco cessation) associated with cancers among populations with low socioeconomic status and other vulnerable groups.
  • Promote the development, adoption and evaluation of evidence-based strategies and projects to reduce disparities among populations with low socioeconomic status residing in high burden regions.
  • Identify the quality of data collected and evaluated to address disparities among members of populations with low socioeconomic status.
  • Create a higher level of national visibility about Self Made Health Network and its role related to addressing cancer and tobacco-related disparities among populations with low socioeconomic status and other vulnerable groups.
  • Create a societal sense of importance and urgency for action by highlighting that health equity benefits all, including employers and service providers — health, social services, public health, housing, etc.
  • Create a societal sense of importance and urgency for action by highlighting the consequences of not addressing cancer and tobacco-related health disparities among specific population groups, including the working poor, unemployed and other vulnerable populations.
  • Create a framework that supports networks and communities through data sharing in order to advance societal investments in addressing and reducing cancer and tobacco-related disparities among populations with low socioeconomic status and other vulnerable groups.

Priority Objectives:

To guide, support, and apply the collective power of partnerships to foster the adoption of emerging best practices and programs; expand dissemination, coordination and sharing of information and resources among multi-dimensional support systems and networks; and evaluate engagement of health disparity regions.

To heighten the value of health equity by promoting evaluation, priority setting, and the adoption of evidence-based interventions impacting the livelihood of low socioeconomic status populations, as vulnerable members of society.

To work collaborative with other partners to identify, develop and evaluate “promising practices” focused on reducing the proportion of populations with low socioeconomic status diagnosed at a “late” stage with cancers which are preventable as well as those detectable through screening and treatable at an early stage.