This part of your community assessment helps you understand what people in your community can do to protect themselves from cancer. It asks you to think about factors that might make it harder for people to use local services and resources.
It also can shed light on how to improve outreach messages for your community. Factors to consider include.
♦ Anything that gives people a higher risk of getting cancer, like age, heredity, or the environment.
♦ Anything that affects how much money people have, like income levels, employment status, and insurance coverage.
♦ Language, cultural, and literacy barriers.
♦ Rates of behaviors that can affect health, like smoking and physical activity.
♦ Cultural beliefs about cancer prevention, use of health care services, and risk factors.
♦ Support services that make it easier for people to go to the doctor, like transportation, child care, and interpreters. Even if you already know what factors to keep in mind, it’s helpful to know more about them. What you learn can help you decide who you want to reach and what you want to tell them. It can help you develop messages and materials that appeal to your community members, reflect their experiences, and give them the information they need to take action. Try some of these strategies:
♦ Review your local cancer control plan to find information on screening, risk factors, and smoking laws in your state, tribal community, or territory. You can also check with your local CCC program or cancer coalition to see if they have this information.
Talk to local leaders from a variety of sectors—like health care, education, social service, and business—to get a more complete picture of your community’s needs.
♦ Search your state or local health department’s Web site for information about your community’s use of screening services, lifestyle factors, and behaviors that influence health.
♦ Use these resources to get data on community characteristics and behaviors that influence cancer risk:
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