RESUMEN
OBJECTIVES: Almost 29,000 new cases and approximately 7,500 deaths are directly attributable to oral cancer in the United States. Understanding the impact of specific behavioral and demographic characteristics on oral cancer is crucial to being able to promote early diagnoses through oral cancer screening. This study hypothesized that selected factors would be predictive of the incidence of oral cancer in Florida's population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Approximately 74,000 cases from the Florida Cancer Data System (FCDS) were included in the study. Demographic and risk factors evaluated included sex, age, marital status, ethnicity, race, primary insurance payer, birthplace, cigarette use, smokeless tobacco use, cancer behavior, and other tobacco use. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess the association of 11 risk factors and oral cancer in Florida. RESULTS: Males, Blacks, Hispanics, married individuals, and current smokers were significantly more likely to be diagnosed with oral cancer compared to their counterparts. CONCLUSION: Florida's health providers need to be aware of the risk factors for oral cancer, look for early signs of oral cancer and recommend routine screenings in patients with history of known risk factors. Including additional reported elements such as human papillomavirus (HPV) history, sunlight exposure, vaping and use of e-cigarettes, and alcohol consumption (by amount) in the cancer registry would be greatly beneficial.
RESUMEN
This article evaluates the status of community health assessment in Kansas. It describes community characteristics associated with community health assessment completion, factors contributing to success, as well as barriers and limitations that prevented Kansas communities from initiating a community health assessment or completing the process. Survey findings show that certain community characteristics such as interagency cooperation, history of success at problem solving, and shared decision-making power are strongly associated with completion of a community health assessment. Results also indicate that factors such as lack of leadership, money, and time as well as poor functioning coalitions may hinder the completion of community health assessment.