Targeting Cancer Disparities in Appalachia

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 1, 2010) − Cancer prevention experts at the University of Kentucky are joining a network of academic and community partners in six states to target cancer in Appalachia, where cancer incidence and mortality are notably higher than the rest of the United States.

The UK Prevention Research Center (UK PRC), based in the Department of Internal Medicine at the UK College of Medicine, has received a 5-year, $6.5 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to implement the Appalachia Community Cancer Network (ACCN). Mark Dignan, professor of internal medicine at the UK College of Medicine and director of the UK PRC, is principal investigator for the project.
 

The network, headquarterd at UK, serves the Appalachian regions of  Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. Regional partner institutions include The Ohio State University, Pennsylvania State University, Virginia Tech and West Virginia University. Plans for the ACCN have been developed in collaboration with community partners and will include programs in research, training and community outreach. 
 

The research program includes a project testing a "faith-based" intervention to reduce cancer risks by addressing obesity and physical activity. Obesity, which is a significant risk factor for many types of cancer, occurs in epidemic proportions in Appalachia. The intervention, to be developed in collaboration with community partners, will focus on changing health behaviors to help individuals loseweight and increase physical activity.
 

"This is community-based participatory research," Dignan said. "We will be working directly with the community to identify strategies that they think will be effective. When we have communities as partners, we get better results. We have also found that projects are more likely to continue when the community is involved in developing them."