ASPO Abstracts

Authors: Prajakta Adsul, Joseph Rodman

Category: Cancer Health Disparities
Conference Year: 2021

Abstract Body:
Cancer disparities among Hispanic and American Indian populations continue to persist in the four-corner region of the United States, which consist of the states of New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado. Supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Comprehensive Cancer Control (CCC) state plans provide a primary way to understand how a state identifies and addresses its burden of cancer. We conducted a content analysis on the most recent four state plans, with an emphasis on colorectal cancer screening. The plans were reviewed and data regarding colorectal cancer screening were extracted. Two analysts independently coded the extracted text and through an iterative process created a final conceptual framework to highlight the three major themes revealed during analysis. All four states included a focus on improving colorectal cancer screening, with specific goals and objectives depending on the state context. Three prominent themes emerged in the analysis. First, states reported their cancer burden using national data from the American Cancer Society, CDC, or the NCI's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results. However, not all plans reported state- level data on colorectal cancer differences by gender, race/ethnicity, and sexual orientation and gender identity, among other social determinants of health. Second, although data informed specific goals and objectives, it was not clear whether the chosen interventions to address these objectives were evidence-based interventions (EBI), or the source of the EBIs, and how they were chosen. Third, very limited information was provided in terms of contextual challenges, stakeholders involved, or the partnerships needed for improving the selection of the EBI or toward the implementation of these EBIs for achieving the goals and objectives in the state context. These gaps highlight opportunities to improve state CCC plans through a harmonization of health equity and implementation research – first, by selecting and adapting contextually-relevant EBIs to implement in this unique region, and second, doing so by bringing researchers and implementation scientists together. Such synergies in research and policies are vital for a coordinated and integrated approach to cancer prevention and control.

Keywords: Comprehensive Cancer Control, Implementation Science, Health Disparities, Evidence-based interventions

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