Ohio County part of lung cancer pilot program

Dec. 05--In an effort to curb Kentucky's lung cancer health-equity challenges, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's SelfMade Health Network has funded a pilot program, and Ohio County is one of only eight counties statewide involved in the initiative.

The pilot program is dubbed Lung Cancer Prevention and Survivorship Is Good Business. University of Kentucky College of Public Health, Kentucky Cancer Program and the Kentucky Cancer Consortium are coordinating the initiative.

Targets are businesses with more than 50 percent male employees. Why males as the priority population?

"Kentucky has the highest rate of new cases and deaths from lung cancer in the nation, and in many counties throughout Kentucky, the rates are significantly higher in males than females," said Jennifer Redmond Knight, assistant professor at the UK College of Public Health, Department of Health Management and Policy.

She also serves as the pilot program's lead investigator.

Redmond Knight said the SelfMade Health Network recommended using businesses to reach the target audience because the Kentucky Cancer Program has learned from experience one of the best ways to reach men with health-related information is through employers.

The SelfMade Health Network selected 10 counties and asked Kentucky coordinators to choose the final eight. The rate of lung cancer, poverty status, medically underserved, low levels of literacy and high hospitalization rates were deciding factors.

The eight counties involved are Casey, Christian, Clay, Jackson, McCracken, Ohio, Perry and Warren.

Besides tobacco use, the pilot program draws attention to radon, which is the second leading cause of lung cancer. The combination of radon gas and cigarette smoke increases the risk for lung cancer more than either factor alone.

Radon is an odorless, colorless and tasteless gas. Elevated levels have been detected in every county statewide, according to the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services.

The Kentucky Radon Program offers free radon testing kits to residents in the Messenger-Inquirer's readership area. To request a kit, call 502-564-4856 or email clay.hardwick@ky.gov.

The pilot program's ultimate goal is to reduce lung cancer rates in Kentucky.

Other goals include reducing the smoking rate, increasing the number of radon tests conducted in homes, reducing the number of people exposed to secondhand smoke and increasing lung-cancer screenings, Redmond Knight said.

Sometime next year, the pilot program will develop a lung cancer work site resource kit, based on feedback from participating businesses. Once a kit is developed, it will be tested in the eight counties. Testing is expected to last until August 2018. The program should continue through January 2019, when coordinators hope to develop an outreach plan that may be used across Kentucky.

In Ohio County, six businesses are participating in the pilot program to date, said Jaime Rafferty, Kentucky Cancer Center cancer control specialist. She is in charge of encouraging targeted businesses to join the initiative.

Interest is high, and the program has been well received. Rafferty expects more businesses to sign on in the near future.

It's more difficult for small shops and workplaces to send a representative to meetings, she said. "But we want to make sure we get as many voices as possible."

Perdue Foods is one of the Ohio County businesses participating in the pilot program. The chicken-processing plant has an extensive wellness program.

"Improving associate health is one of our company's annual goals ...," said Angie Hudnall, the plant's RN health improvement program specialist. "It's part of our overall 'people-first' philosophy."

Hudnall is also a recently trained facilitator for the American Lung Association's Freedom from Smoking program and is involved with smoking cessation at the plant. In addition, the company's health insurance covers the cost of smoking cessation medications.

Since August, the plant has seen an 11 percent drop in smoking, she said.

The Lung Cancer Prevention and Survivorship Is Good Business project is a natural complement to the plant's health improvement program, Hudnall said.

"The pilot program matches our focus on primary care, prevention and early intervention to improve associate health and reduce health-care costs -- for our associates and for our company," she said.

Renee Beasley Jones, 270-228-2835, rbeasleyjones@messenger-inquirer.com

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