Planning County-wide Cancer Education: Using Geo-mapping to Identify Met and Unmet Need

In 2004, a comprehensive county-wide needs assessment was completed identifying cancer education needs for Warren County, NJ. Based on this initial needs assessment, funding was secured to provide cancer education. For the last three years (2005-07), cancer education efforts have increased over 150%. Furthermore, cancer screenings within the county have increased over 125%. More importantly, these education efforts have targeted residents living within geographic regions identified as having higher cancer incidence. This presentation provides a case study where epidemiologic cancer registry data is geo-mapped along with community locations of cancer education efforts in order to identify met and unmet need. Geo-maps display a three year time series sequence of cancer education efforts in an effort to address unmet cancer education needs of the county. Results from paired t-tests by zip-code indicated significant increases occurred in the mean number of participants receiving cancer education from 2005 vs. 2006 and 2006 vs. 2007. Furthermore, there were significant within zip-code correlations between cancer registry crude incidence data and the number of participants receiving cancer education and screening information. Geo-mapping is discussed as a tool for identifying unmet need and communicating prevention efforts.