Cancer

Completed Projects

Listed by project completion date. You can also view these projects alphabetically.

Cardiovascular & Cancer Rates for the Rural Delta Region
This interactive tool can be used to compare county-level rates and incidence of cancer and cardiovascular related health measures for people residing in the lower Mississippi River Delta Region. Users may filter by various health measures and download images and data.
Research center: North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
Topics: Cancer, Chronic diseases and conditions, Diabetes, Obesity
Do Rural Breast and Colorectal Cancer Patients Present at More Advanced Disease Stages than Their Urban Counterparts?
Access to recommended cancer screening is more difficult for rural residents than their urban counterparts. This study used the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program (SEER) data to examine the extent to which rural residents present at more advanced disease stages for breast and colorectal cancer diagnosis than urban residents.
Research center: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
Topics: Cancer, Health promotion and disease prevention, Health services

Do Rural Communities Have a Higher Rate of Avoidable Deaths?
Based on some estimates, roughly half of deaths were avoidable in the sense they stem from risky behavior. What was less well known was the degree to which there was a rural-urban disparity in this rate.
Research center: North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
Topic: Cancer

Do Rural Patients with Early Stage Prostate Cancer Gain Access to All Treatment Choices?
This research will use cancer registry data from 10 states to examine the degree to which rural residents diagnosed with early stage prostate cancer access the full range of surveillance, surgical, and radiation treatment options. Study findings will inform cancer centers, advocacy groups, rural program planners, and policymakers about services and programs needed to ensure that rural prostate cancer patients can choose from among all treatment options.
Research center: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
Topics: Cancer, Chronic diseases and conditions, Health services

Use of Recommended Radiation Therapy in the Rural U.S.
This study will use cancer registry data from 10 U.S. states to examine which rural cancer patients are receiving recommended radiation therapy, and what factors influence receipt of recommended treatment. Identifying gaps in radiation therapy will inform cancer centers, rural program planners, and policy makers in rural cancer service locations and cancer support program development.
Research center: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
Topics: Cancer, Chronic diseases and conditions, Health services

Descriptive Analysis of the Health Status of a National Asbestos-Related Cohort
A collaborative study to establish a more comprehensive understanding of the health status and health service needs of persons exposed to Libby asbestos is being conducted by nurse researchers at Montana State University College of Nursing and healthcare providers at the Center for Asbestos Related Disease in Libby, Montana. Results of the descriptive study will provide healthcare providers and policy makers a better understanding of the health effects and healthcare needs of exposed persons.
Research center: FORHP-funded Individual Grantees
Topics: Cancer, Chronic diseases and conditions, Health services

Breast, Cervical, Colorectal, and Prostate Cancer Screening in Rural America: Does Proximity to a Metropolitan Area Matter?
The study compared cancer screening rates among various levels of rural versus urban Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System respondents.
Research center: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
Topics: Cancer, Health promotion and disease prevention

Pharmaceutical Data Validity in Estimating Rural Population Health
This project will allow for the quantification of variation in morbidity (via prescription use) across rural areas; identify locations that might be at risk for stunted economic development due to high levels of chronic illness in the working population; and potentially lead to the development of a valid and reliable measure of county-level rates of chronic illness using prescription data as a proxy.
Research center: FORHP-funded Individual Grantees
Topics: Cancer, Chronic diseases and conditions, Diabetes, Pharmacy and prescription drugs, Public health, Rural statistics and demographics

National Study of Home Health Access in Rural America
This project will develop home health care service areas that will allow for the measurement of access to home health care for rural Medicare beneficiaries who die of cancer, and recommend options for increasing access to home health care in underserved rural areas.
Research center: FORHP-funded Individual Grantees
Topics: Cancer, Health services, Home health, Hospice and palliative care, Medicare

Access to Cancer Services for Rural Colorectal Cancer Medicare Patients: A Multi-State Study
This study examined a comprehensive database to quantify the distance and access to four types of cancer services in a sample of rural, Medicare-insured, CRC patients, and will inform future work designed to understand discrepancies in cancer service use by the rural elderly.
Research center: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
Topics: Aging, Cancer, Chronic diseases and conditions, Health services, Medicare