A Health Disparities Visualization Tool for Informing Cancer Prevention and Control Efforts

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT The burden of colorectal, cervical, and breast cancer cases and deaths are disproportionately greater among individuals living in impoverished and underserved areas. Early detection of these cancers through screenings and timely treatment among individuals diagnosed with precancers or cancers can reduce inequities in these

vulnerable groups. Actionable data to guide outreach efforts, and implement programs and policies are urgently needed to reduce colorectal, cervical, and breast disparities among low-income and underserved communities. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the American Cancer Society (ACS) recently

emphasized the promise of big data in improving knowledge and providing more accurate data for informing practice and policies. This project draws from the NCI’s and ACS’s vision of the strategic use of big data and integrates it within an interactive data visualization framework. We will utilize South Carolina state’s Integrated

Database System (covering health information of over 90% of low-income individuals) to determine colorectal, cervical, and breast cancer disparities among low-income and underserved individuals and develop a user- centered cancer disparities visualization tool through stakeholder engagement. Two end products (a web-

based interactive tool and a toolkit) will be disseminated to community organizations and stakeholders working with low-income and underserved populations. Our goal is to provide useful, usable, understandable health disparities data and form partnerships with community organizations and stakeholders to implement evidence-

based resources and achieve cancer health equity. Therefore, this proposal is directly responsive to PAR-20- 283 (Objective: Providing health information resources/services to community organizations involved with health disparity population’). We plan to put the information generated from this study into immediate action by

deploying the Medical University of South Carolina’s fully operational mobile health units to provide cancer screenings to communities and groups with urgent needs. A data-driven approach to population outreach, combined with the implementation of evidence-based interventions, could translate into long-term public health

and economic gains.