Abstract
Background: Tobacco use, primarily associated with the use of cigarettes, is one of the most significant preventable causes of lung cancer mortalities in the United States, killing over 480,000 people per year. Smoking cessation is the most important method to protect against lung cancer. Thus, it is imperative for clinicians to continue to advise both their healthy patients and those who use tobacco about cessation and provide recommendations on behavioral interventions. However, there are more than 6,000 areas in the nation that have been classified as medically underserved and health professional shortage areas. More than half of the state of Florida has health professional shortages. Focusing on the North Florida region specifically, the entire counties of Baker, Madison, and Union are considered shortage areas.
Objective(s): This poster serves to determine lung cancer incidence in the North Florida region, specifically Baker, Madison, and Union County, where there is a significant health professional shortage, and these results should be used to further encourage physicians in our communities and beyond to promote tobacco cessation and lung cancer screenings to patients as well as encourage policy makers to further implement outreach programs in underserved areas.
Methods: A data search was conducted on the FloridaHealth Charts website, regarding lung cancer incidence in North Florida. Data was limited to Baker, Madison, and Union County and the years 2005-2019 in the FloridaHealth data search. All races and ethnicities were included in the data collection. In addition, data was derived from the Florida Department of Health Division of Community Health Promotion and published research studies.
Results: Using the data gathered, from 2005 to 2019, the rate, per 100,000, of lung cancer incidence in Baker County increased from 64.4 to 96.1. From 2005 to 2019, the rate, per 100,000, of lung cancer incidence in Madison County increased from 120.6 to 133.1. From 2005 to 2019, the rate, per 100,000, of lung cancer incidence in Union County increased from 155.3 to 206.4.
Conclusion: The prevalence of lung cancer incidence in the Baker, Madison, and Union Counties is alarming and brings light to healthcare professional shortages playing a role in this issue. Overall, the data study analysis found that those regions with physician shortages in North Florida had an increased incidence of lung cancer compared to the state of Florida as a whole. Compared to other counties in the state of Florida, lung cancer incidence rates are at an all-time high and rising in underserved areas. The data analysis showed that those counties with available resources and non-shortage counties that were once at a high incidence rate 15 years ago, have decreased in lung cancer. This poster contributes to awareness of the effects of healthcare shortages and the impact it has on preventable life-threatening cancers with education and availability of resources to measures such as lung cancer screening and behavioral intervention programs for smoking cessation. This poster also highlights underrepresented and underserved areas in Florida that need medical attention. It emphasizes the importance of screening measures to help prevent more severe disease complications later in life.
