ACS MapPlace – Health Profile and Community Resources Mapping

Project

Carolina Casares, MD MPHKenneth Portier, PhD

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States

Much of the suffering and death from cancer could be prevented by more systematic and innovative health screening and promotion efforts.

However, a disproportionate number of minority and other medically underserved populations are not fully benefiting from available resources.

Underlying causes of cancer disparities are interrelated and complex

Causes of Cancer DisparitiesCan be linked to the social determinants of health,

such as: Inequalities in access to care, Language barriers, Unhealthy environments, and Racial discrimination

Eliminating disparities in cancer screening, diagnosis, treatment, and mortality is an essential step toward achieving health equity, increasing access and improving health outcomes for patients with cancer.

There are significant challenges and opportunities in developing the appropriate tools to effectively

communicate health information and resources as it pertains to reaching

minority and underserved populations.

The Challenges

The development of culturally appropriate and effective health policies and programs requires local and national information on race, ethnicity, and the social determinants of health.

These data and cancer-specific data for minority and medically underserved populations in formats and at a geographic resolution useful for program development and planning is generally unavailable at the ACS.

Goals - Support mission related strategic planning and

resource allocation at ACS as it relates to cancer disparities through a linked GIS and decision support on-line tool.

Objectives - Develop methods of engaging ACS Division

mission staff in discussions of cancer disparities, help them fully understand the health profile, health determinants and inequalities in their communities

Create a “national community” within ACS centered on the issues of cancer disparities, specifically in the Latino population.

Explore how the information in MapPlace can and is used in decision making around health disparities issues within the ACS.

What is MapPlace? A web-based mapping and reporting environment

that will help support mission related strategic planning and resource allocation at ACS related to cancer disparities.

The ACS is piloting a project that combines the use of issues management systems (IMS) and geographical information systems (GIS) in one system. It is expected that through this one system, it will be possible for ACS to focus and manage its collaborations, generate maps and other special visuals that will illustrate specific cancer disparities and associated social determinants of health. This new system will help ACS identify and implement evidence based cancer disparity reducing initiatives more effectively.

For this endeavor we will be collecting data that addresses several questions, such as:

Where are disparate populations? What is the extent of disparity among the

different populations? What are the nuts and bolts we will need to

implement this program?

Learning Objectives: To actively engage participants to explore the

tools the Society is currently developing to achieve relevance and trust among diverse populations

Identify areas for further action Solicit suggestions on how to implement these

ideas

African American Breast Cancer Mortality Rates in the US by County

African American Breast Cancer Mortality Rates by Region and County

Mortality Rate for Breast Cancer by County - Black Female (2002-2006)

           Edgefield

County

           

County FIPS 45037

County Name Edgefield County

Black Female Mortality Rate, Breast Cancer

52.9

Black Female Mortalities, Breast Cancer

12

Black Female Population

Edgefield County

Edgefield County

African American Female Population and Breast Cancer Mortality Rates by County

ACS is actively promoting best practices in health promotion, initiating alliances and partnerships for promoting sound policies and synergistic practices related to chronic disease that are culturally and linguistically appropriate for diverse populations and reach all communitiesThis will require collaborations and coordinated actions at local, divisional, and national levels, if progress is to be made.

ACS is intently looking at more efficient ways to utilize Society resources at all levels of service by defining the issues, identifying feasible

projects and aligning activities.

©2010 American Cancer Society, Inc. No.0052.19

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