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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Chris Kippes, MS¹, Najeebah Shine, MS, RD, LD², Katie Fox, MS¹, Robert W. Indian, MS³, Holly Engelhardt, MS³, Elaine A. Borawski, PhD⁴, and Elizabeth Larkin, MS⁵. (1) Epidemiology and Surveillance, Cuyahoga County Board of Health, 5550 Venture Drive, Parma, OH 44130, 216-201-2001 ext 1600, ckippes@ccbh.net, (2) Community Health Services, Cuyahoga County Board of Health, 5550 Venture Drive, Parma, OH 44130, (3) Chronic Disease and Behavioral Epidemiology, Ohio Department of Health, 246 N. High Street, Columbus, OH 43215, (4) Center for Health Promotion Research, Case Western Reserve University, 11430 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH 44106, (5) Epidemiology and Surveillance Services, Cuyahoga County Board of Health, 5550 Venture Drive, Parma, OH 44130

Background: Cancer cluster inquires are a driving force behind the need to conduct community cancer assessments. Often, results of these assessments do not reveal unusually high burdens of cancer within a given community. However, in the instance where the cancer burden is significantly high and the risk factors associated with the cancer are largely due to behavior (e.g. smoking), there is opportunity for public health officials to provide programming aimed at tobacco prevention and/or cessation activities. Methods: Standardized Incidence Ratios (SIRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated for 26 different cancer types/sites using data from the Ohio Cancer Incidence Surveillance System. Data from the Cuyahoga County Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and the Cuyahoga County Partnership Youth Tobacco Survey provided information on tobacco use and attitudes towards tobacco use for adults and youth. Results: A cancer assessment for a suburban Cuyahoga County community revealed a SIR = 1.57 (95% CI = 1.07-2.23) for bladder cancer – where smoking is one of the greatest known risk factors. Survey data from this community also demonstrated that there was a higher percentage of current smokers among adults and youth in this community compared to overall county percentages. Conclusion: The results of the cancer assessments can serve as a catalyst to implementing prevention/cessation programming in the school or community setting. Especially when the following conditions exist: surveillance information for contributing behaviors on both youth and adults is available and little or no tobacco prevention/cessation programming exists in the given community.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to

• To describe the rationale and methodology involved in conducting community cancer assessments; and
• To discuss how results of a community cancer assessment can be used to initiate tobacco prevention/cessation programming within the school and community setting

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation