194721 National Cancer Institute's State Cancer Legislative Database (SCLD) and a summary of legislative data addressing health disparities

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Kerri M. Lowrey, JD, MPH , Public Health Law Network, University of Maryland School of Law, Baltimore, MD
Matthew Hartman , The MayaTech Corporation, Center for Health Policy and Legislative Analysis, Silver Spring, MD
Linnea Laestadius , The MayaTech Corporation, Center for Health Policy and Legislative Analysis, Silver Spring, MD
Randy Hull, JD , The MayaTech Corporation, The MayaTech Corporation, Silver Spring, MD
Regina el Arculli, MA , Director, State Cancer Legislative Database Program, National Cancer Institute Office of Government and Congressional Relations, Bethesda, MD
Eliminating health disparities is a primary goal of Healthy People 2010, a statement of national health objectives designed to identify the most significant preventable health threats and to establish national goals for reducing them. Most researchers agree that the determinants of health are rooted in society-level policies and norms. Therefore, state laws serve as an essential tool for raising awareness of inequities in cancer incidence, morbidity, and mortality, and for addressing their causes by promoting cancer awareness, ensuring access to screening and treatment, and reducing environmental and behavioral risk factors. This poster will present the results of a qualitative analysis of state laws, enacted as of December 31, 2008, that address the problem of cancer disparities. Data from the National Cancer Institute's State Cancer Legislative Database (SCLD) were analyzed to identify the nature and extent of state laws and resolutions addressing cancer disparities, with particular emphasis on provisions addressing disparities due to race, ethnicity, geographic location, language, culture, or socioeconomic status. Preliminary results reveal a focus on prevention and the provision of treatment services for cancer disparities populations. Understanding the breadth, scope, and direction of state policy efforts will be critical to assessing progress toward improving cancer outcomes for disparities populations. This poster will also detail the disparities topics included in SCLD and provide an overview of the types of legislation contained in these categories. An illustration of the potential uses and applications of SCLD data, as well as ways in which to obtain such information, will also be provided.

Learning Objectives:
At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) identify the major cancer-health disparities components in SCLD, (2) identify areas of legislative focus that are common among the states; (3) identify methods of accessing and using SCLD disparities data; and (4) understand the SCLD products and other information available to researchers.

Keywords: Health Disparities, Public Policy

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a public health attorney with post-doctoral training in cancer prevention and control from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health and more than 10 years of experience studying the role of law and policy in cancer prevention and public health and more than six years of experience studying health disparities and policies addressing the social determinants of health. I hold a J.D. from the University of Maryland School of Law in Baltimore, MD, an M.P.H. from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, MD, and an A.B. in Public Policy and American Institutions from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

See more of: Community Health Planning, Policy and Development Poster Session
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