Designing Strategies for Understanding and Decreasing Burden of Cervical Cancer in Appalachia

Project Goals There is a need to elucidate the relative contributions of various factors to the variability observed within Appalachia, and more specifically Appalachian Kentucky, to the Ice high rates. In particular, the lack of adequate screening for early detection and the relative contribution of risk factors such as HPV and smoking cannot be discerned at this time. We propose to investigate and develop the most appropriate plans to address these questions. In particular, we will strive to: 1) Develop a community-based, representative survey methodology that addresses the primary limitations of the BRFSS methodology. The aim of the community-based survey is to substantiate and extend the findings of the BRFSS, or alternatively to provide more accurate, detailed representation of the highest risk groups. 2) Investigate the feasibility of implementing HPV-testing in an appropriate population-based sample to assess the prevalence rates in the high risk ICC Appalachian population.