This book contains selected papers from the St. Jude Cure4Kids Global Summit held June 9–11, 2011, at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The aim of this three-day conference was to improve health and science education in classrooms and communities around the world. It brought together leading educators, innovators, and pioneers in a multidisciplinary forum to promote improvements and innovations in health and science education. This event connected people from diverse communities and professional backgrounds and provided unique opportunities for networking and building collaborations. Specifically, the objectives of the conference were:

To identify successful examples of effective public health education programs, their implementation models, and evaluation metrics;

To analyze the challenges in designing effective, scalable, and cost-effective public health education programs; and

To identify strategies, methodologies, and incentives for developing future public health programs that yield large-scale improvements in health outcomes in our communities.

Health and education are inextricably linked. The need for effective and scalable cancer, health, and science education programs is increasing as a result of the rising levels of chronic disease around the world [1]. Current approaches are not yielding scalable, sustainable solutions. Because the problem is complex, we need new approaches that combine multiple disciplines such as education, medicine, the sciences, and public health to create innovative solutions. We need to develop opportunities and strategies to involve and engage teachers, children, and families in new health promotion programs that would instill healthy lifestyle choices at an early age with the goal of preventing chronic conditions that can be costly and difficult to treat [2].

Over half of the deaths in the world are now due to just four chronic conditions – diabetes, lung diseases, some cancers, and heart disease [2]. These chronic diseases are highly influenced by some common risk factors such as smoking, poor diet, and lack of physical activity [3]. The World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) global network suggests that, across a range of countries, making lifestyle changes such as maintaining a healthy weight, eating a healthy diet, and taking regular physical activity can reduce the risk of common cancers by up to a third [4]. These findings are further supported by the World Health Organization's new Global Recommendations on Physical Activity for Health [5]. Cancer is a leading cause of death around the world, and its incidence continues to rise. Each year 12.7 million people discover they have cancer and 7.6 million people die from the disease. Evidence shows that 30–40% all cancer deaths can be prevented, and one third can be cured through early diagnosis and treatment [6].

Developing and delivering effective, scalable, and sustainable programs that lead to real behavioral change will be challenging and will require innovation and interdisciplinary collaboration. The selected papers in these proceedings are intended to provide a foundation in the key topics that will be needed to create future innovative health promotion programs. The conference program for the St. Jude Cure4Kids Global Summit was organized by Yuri Quintana and Aubrey Villalobos with input from an Advancing Cancer Education and Healthy Living in Our Communities international program committee. The proceedings book was edited by Yuri Quintana, Aubrey Villalobos, and Dorothy May. The conference was supported and hosted by the Cure4Kids team from the International Outreach Program at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. We hope this book will inspire other educators, health advocates, and innovators in the development of new programs that have global impact.

Yuri Quintana, PhD

Director for Education and Informatics

International Outreach Program

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Aubrey Van Kirk Villalobos M.Ed.

Cancer Educational Outreach Coordinator

International Outreach Program

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Dorothy May, MS

Editorial Coordinator

International Outreach Program

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

St. Jude Cure4Kids Team (www.cure4kids.org)

International Outreach Program (www.stjude.org/international)

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (www.stjude.org)

References

[1] Daar AS, Singer PA, Persad DL, Pramming SK, Matthews DR, Beaglehole R, et al. Grand challenges in chronic non-communicable diseases. Nature 2007;450:494–6.

[2] Suhrcke M, Nugent RA, Stuckler D, Rocco L. Chronic Disease: An Economic Perspective. London: Oxford Health Alliance; 2006.

[3] The World Health Organization. Preventing chronic diseases: A vital investment: WHO global report. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2005.

[4] WCRF/AICR preventability estimates: Update to estimates produced for the 2009 Policy Report. World Cancer Research Fund; 2011.

[5] WHO Recommendations on Physical Activity for Health. Available at: http://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/factsheet_recommendations/en/. Last accessed: June 9, 2011.

[6] WHO. The World Health Organization's Fight Against Cancer. 2007. Available at: http://www.who.int/cancer/publicat/WHOCancerBrochure2007.FINALweb.pdf. Last accessed: June 9, 2011.