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Cancer Prevention and Treatment in Rural Areas – Resources

Selected recent or important resources focusing on Cancer Prevention and Treatment in Rural Areas.

Community-Based Screening for Cervical Cancer: A Feasibility Study of Rural Appalachian Women
Describes a community-based screening program for rural Appalachian women that examines the women's comfort levels and experience self-collecting swabs for HPV testing, whether nurse-guided patient navigation increases the odds of women receiving a traditional Pap test after HPV screening, and explores the hypothesis that women testing positive for oncogenic HPV would be more likely to have a Pap test than those testing negative.
Author(s): Richard A. Crosby, Michael E. Hagensee, Robin Vanderpool, et al.
Citation: Sexually Transmitted Diseases, 42(11), 607-611
Date: 11/2015
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Challenges of Rural Cancer Care in the United States
Highlights the impact of rurality affecting the care of rural cancer patients and healthcare providers treating cancer patients. Discussion includes the availability of cancer specialists, limited transportation services, lower socioeconomic status, health insurance coverage, less access to clinical trials, and the shortage of palliative and end-of-life staff and services.
Author(s): Mary Charlton, Jennifer Schlichting, Catherine Chioreso, et al.
Citation: Oncology (Williston Park), 29(9), 633-640
Date: 09/2015
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The 2014 Update of the Rural-Urban Chartbook
Updates information presented in Health, United States, 2001: With Urban and Rural Health Chartbook. Highlights current trends and disparities across different levels of metro and nonmetropolitan counties, including population characteristics; health-related behaviors and risk factors; mortality rates; healthcare access and use; mental health measures; and other health measures such as teen birth rates, tooth loss, and activity limitations due to chronic disease. Individual data tables are available in an Excel file.
Author(s): Michael Meit, Alana Knudson, Tess Gilbert, et al.
Date: 10/2014
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Reform Policy Research Center
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Rural-Urban Differences in Health Behaviors and Implications for Health Status Among U.S. Cancer Survivors
Examines health behavior differences among rural and urban cancer survivors in the U.S. Determines associations between self-reported health status and health-related unemployment and associations between health behaviors and health status. Includes rural versus urban information on marital status, race/ethnicity, education, cancer type, health insurance, employment, BMI, smoking habits, alcohol use, and physical activity.
Author(s): Kathryn E. Weaver, Nynikka Palmer, Lingyi Lu, L. Douglas Case, Ann M. Geiger
Citation: Cancer Causes and Control, 24(8), 1481-1490
Date: 08/2013
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Contrasts in Rural and Urban Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screening
Reports the results of a study examining the knowledge, beliefs, barriers, and experiences related to colorectal cancer screening for rural and urban patients at Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs).
Author(s): Terry C. Davis, Alfred Rademaker, Stacy Cooper Bailey, et al.
Citation: American Journal of Health Behavior, 37(3), 289-298
Date: 05/2013
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Rural-Urban Disparities in Health Status among US Cancer Survivors
Analyzes the self-reported health status of U.S. cancer survivors for disparities by rural versus urban residence. Includes rural and urban data on demographics, overall health, psychological distress, and non-cancer co-morbidities.
Author(s): Kathryn E. Weaver, Ann M. Geiger, Lingyi Lu, L. Douglas Case
Citation: Cancer, 119(5), 1050-1057
Date: 03/2013
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Urban–Rural Disparities in Colorectal Cancer Screening: Cross-Sectional Analysis of 1998–2005 Data from the Centers for Disease Control's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Study
Analyzes Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data to examine disparities in colorectal cancer screening rates between rural and urban U.S. populations. Table 1 compares rural and urban population characteristics, such as age, education, income, marital status, and overall health.
Author(s): Allison M. Cole, J. Elizabeth Jackson, Mark Doescher
Citation: Cancer Medicine, 1(3), 350-356
Date: 12/2012
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Cancer Risk Factors and Rurality
Analyzes cancer rate data by smoking, healthcare visits, uninsured status, premature mortality, and race and ethnicity. Includes interactive data visualizations comparing metro and nonmetro differences at the county level. Offers a video tutorial for interacting with the data.
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Resource Center
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Preventing HPV Cancers in Rural Communities
Provides an overview of the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital's efforts to promote human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination in rural areas. Includes newsletters, upcoming events, meeting recordings, and program action steps. See Education and Training Resources for HPV profiles of selected states, including comparisons of HPV vaccination rates among 13-17 year olds by level of urbanicity.
Sponsoring organization: St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
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Colorectal Cancer Data Dashboard
Dashboard providing maps and graphs of county-level colorectal cancer (CRC) data from a variety of sources. Includes data on CRC incidence, mortality, screening, obesity, tobacco use, age groups, educational attainment, poverty, and race and ethnicity. Also allows mapping of NCI-Designated Cancer Centers, Commission on Cancer-accredited hospitals, and Federally Qualified Health Centers.
Additional links: Tutorial
Sponsoring organization: American Cancer Society National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable
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Last Updated: 7/18/2025