Cancer is the leading cause of death in Clackamas County and Oregon, and the second leading cause of death in the United States.[1,2] The top health indicator prioritized in the local public health department’s most recent community health improvement plan, Blueprint for a Healthy Clackamas County, is access to care, including utilization of prevention services.[3]

Access to essential preventive health care like cancer screening is often lower within and between different groups of people based on intersecting population characteristics [4], such as:

  • socioeconomic disadvantage

  • geographic location

  • race

  • ethnicity

  • age

  • language

  • immigration status

  • ability

  • sexual orientation

  • gender identity 

These disparities exist due to inequities (injustices) related to the social determinants of health, including discrimination, racism, and stigma. For example, studies have found that people with Medicaid coverage have lower cancer screening rates than people who are commercially insured, and specific populations persistently face an increased likelihood of developing or dying from specific types of cancer.[4,5] 

Considering these factors, meaningful community-level interventions can be developed and implemented to improve access to cancer screening.[6]

Goals of the Cancer CARE Project:
The short-term goal is to increase understanding and awareness of local cancer disparities and to glean priority areas to guide subsequent planning and implementation of evidence-based approaches.
The long-term goal is to build capacity to develop equitable community-level approaches to increase cancer screening rates that match the local community's level of readiness in Clackamas County.

We invite you to collaborate with us to increase awareness of local cancer-related disparities and understand our community's strengths, needs, and opportunities
to increase cancer screening in Clackamas County. 

We want to partner with our local community!

We especially want to partner with Oregon Health Plan (Medicaid) members, as well as people who serve, care, and advocate for them.
 

Let us know if you want to get involved!


Complete the form below and we'll reach out to you soon.
The project findings and action plan will be publicly available on Access Care Anywhere's website.
References
  1. Oregon Health Authority (2022, December 23). Leading causes of death by county, 2021 resident deaths, Number of deaths, All causes. Center for Health Statistics. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2022). An Update on Cancer Deaths in the United States. Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Cancer Prevention and Control.
  3. Clackamas County Health and Human Services (Revised 2021). "2020-2023 Blueprint for a Healthy Clackamas."
  4. Benavidez GA, Zgodic A, Zahnd WE, Eberth JM. (2021). Disparities in Meeting USPSTF Breast, Cervical, and Colorectal Cancer Screening Guidelines Among Women in the United States. Prev Chronic Dis; 18: 200315. 
  5. Bonafede, Machaon M., et al. (2019). Breast, Cervical, and Colorectal Cancer Screening: Patterns Among Women With Medicaid and Commercial Insurance. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, vol. 57, no. 3, pp. 394-402.
  6. Sayani A, Ali MA, Corrado AM, et al. (2021). Interventions designed to increase the uptake of lung cancer screening and implications for priority populations: a scoping review protocol. BMJ Open ; 11: e050056.
 
This project is funded in part by the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute Community Partnership Program, which is designed to build sustainable collaborations with Oregon communities by providing grants and other resources to foster development of community-identified cancer prevention, early detection, treatment and survivorship projects. The OHSU Knight Cancer Institute has made a decade-long commitment to invest in this program to develop robust, sustainable programs that benefit the health of all Oregonians. Additional information about the program is available on the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute’s website.

Please note: The opinions expressed within the content are solely Access Care Anywhere's and do not reflect the opinions and beliefs of the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute, its website or affiliates.

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Access Care Anywhere is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.