Preventing Cancer through Environmental Changes

Emory University: Prevention Research Center

Topics:
Cancer

Changing neighborhood environments can reduce the cancer risk for residents in rural southwest Georgia, where cancer rates are higher for African-American residents than for non-Hispanic white residents. Researchers and the Southwest Georgia Cancer Coalition are interviewing about 60 African American and white residents to discover how their families, faith-based organizations, and worksites influence health risk behaviors—such as smoking, unhealthy eating habits, and physical inactivity—associated with several types of cancer.

About 400 residents are participating in a survey to determine their health and risk factors, such as whether they smoke; the amounts of fats, fruits, and vegetables they eat; their body mass index; their physical activity level; and the social and individual factors that contribute to or undermine healthy habits. Six- and twelve-months later, researchers will reassess those residents at-risk for cancer, to see if their behaviors and the factors that contribute to them have changed.

Based on these two assessments, researchers and their community collaborators will identify key environmental changes that can make a positive difference on residents’ health and reduce their risk of cancer, such as developing walking trails or creating policies that restrict smoking in public areas. Center staff will help two communities in southwest Georgia implement appropriate environmental changes and evaluate the results.

 

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