Abstract A12: Lung cancer prevention and survivorship is good business: Unifying communities and industries for better health
Authors: Knight Jennifer Redmond , Armstrong Debra , Paul Kristin , Westbrook Elizabeth , Bathje Kathryn 
Published: February 2019

Introduction: The Kentucky Cancer Consortium, Kentucky Cancer Program and UK College of Public Health are implementing a multicomponent intervention that addresses lung cancer disparities among rural, low-income male employees in eight Southern Kentucky counties with high lung cancer incidence and mortality rates. The intervention began with focus groups with organizations that provide services to men related to lung cancer conducted from September 2016-January 2017. The second component included community roundtables held from Februar-May 2017 with worksites that employ mostly men. The third component includes statewide educational webinars. Two of seven webinars have been held. One was in January 2017 on radon prevention and another in May 2017 on lung cancer stigma. The final component will include implementing a Lung Cancer Worksite Navigation Toolkit in select worksites in 2018. This effort is funded by the Self Made Health Network and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Methods: A convenience sample of representatives from organizations who provide services to men were recruited to participate in eight county focus groups (Casey, Christian, Clay, Jackson, McCracken, Perry, Ohio, and Warren) facilitated by Kentucky Cancer Program staff. The goals of the focus groups were to assess resources and services related to lung cancer, to understand how men access services and barriers to services, and to create linkages and partnerships between community organizations and worksites. The focus group participants and other community leaders helped recruit participants for the roundtables. The goal of the roundtables was to bring together worksite representatives to discuss lung cancer in their county and gather recommendations on the development of a Lung Cancer Worksite Navigation Toolkit. Two more roundtables will be held. The educational webinars are designed to provide education to focus group and roundtable participants as well as other statewide partners. The topics were selected based on the lung cancer continuum.

Results: A combined total of 45 organization representatives participated in the focus groups. The majority represented health care organizations (58%) and provided services to multiple counties (58%). Most resources and services related to lung cancer in these counties are directed toward tobacco treatment and lung cancer screening. The primary ways men learn about and access services is through employers and mass media. The most frequently mentioned and discussed barrier was behaviors/attitudes, which included fear, reluctance to see a doctor, denial, stigma, fatalism, stress, and others. A combined total of 61 worksite representatives participated in 8 roundtable meetings. Initial analysis shows that worksites found it beneficial to learn from one another. Analysis is in process. There were 48 participants for the radon webinar and 86 participants for the lung cancer stigma webinar. Post-webinar evaluations showed that awareness increased on these topics, 94% for radon and 95% for lung cancer stigma. Most participants in both webinars plan to share what they learned with colleagues (47% radon, 71% lung cancer stigma).

Conclusions: Focus groups increased understanding of existing community services as well as gaps in services, especially for survivorship. A large part of decreasing barriers to access may need to focus on influencing behaviors and attitudes rather than lack of resources. The focus groups reinforced the importance of developing partnerships with employers as way of educating men about lung cancer and community services. Roundtable meetings provided a venue for worksites to talk with one another and provide recommendations for resources needed. Statewide educational webinars provide an opportunity to increase awareness on lung cancer topics. These combined approaches are important in addressing lung cancer disparities among rural, low-income males in Kentucky.

Citation Format: Jennifer Redmond Knight, Debra Armstrong, Kristin Paul, Elizabeth Westbrook, Kathryn Bathje. Lung cancer prevention and survivorship is good business: Unifying communities and industries for better health [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Tenth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2017 Sep 25-28; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2018;27(7 Suppl):Abstract nr A12.