Catharine Grimes talks to ecancer at ICCN 17, in Prague, about the various Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation grants, including the announcement of five new grants for 2012, and programmes aimed at improving outcomes and health education.

The Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation currently has six programmes in four geographic areas around the world, all of which address health disparities and outcomes through community-based solutions. In Europe, cancer is the second largest killer with the highest rates in Central and Eastern Europe. These rates of incidence and mortality are continuing to increase even in common cancers.

The Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation's focus on cancer in central and eastern Europe started in 2008 through its Bridging Cancer Care programme, and in 2010 turned a focus on educating nurses and building nurse-community partnerships to tackle cancer disparities and improve patient outcomes.

The Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation’s Bridging Cancer Care programme has also begun to partner with ecancer.org on translating and disseminating the trainings being conducted through its grants so that they are accessible to all nurses in the region and worldwide.