UAB PLAYS MAJOR ROLE IN LAUNCHING STATEWIDE ACTION PLAN TO ELIMINATE CERVICAL CANCER
COMMUNITY OUTREACH & ENGAGEMENT ❚■
UAB PLAYS MAJOR ROLE IN LAUNCHING STATEWIDE ACTION PLAN TO ELIMINATE CERVICAL CANCER
Former Interim Associate Director of Community Outreach & Engagement Isabel Scarinci , Ph . D ., helped launch the statewide action plan Wipe Out Cervical Cancer .
The Alabama Department of Public Health , in partnership with the University of Alabama at Birmingham , TogetHER for Health , Rotary Club of Birmingham , the American Cancer Society and Quality of Life Health Services Inc . recently launched a statewide action plan to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health problem in Alabama , referred to as Operation Wipe Out .
“ This is a major win and a step forward for the women in the state of Alabama . We are so grateful and excited to be able to work side by side with the Alabama Department of Public Health to launch this campaign and serve as true leaders and advocates for cervical cancer prevention and elimination in the United States ,” said Warner Huh , M . D ., chair of the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology in the UAB Marnix E . Heersink School of Medicine .
Operation Wipe Out represents a road map with evidence-based strategies to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health problem in Alabama by 2033 . Some of the strategies include providing the community with information and support to get children and teenagers vaccinated against HPV , helping women get screened and offering support for follow-up care in the event of abnormal results .
“ The identified strategies are not limited to education only ,” said Isabel Scarinci , Ph . D ., vice chair for Global and Rural Health for the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and senior advisor for Globalization and Cancer at the O ’ Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center . “ It is also important that we make sure parents know where to get their children vaccinated and women know where they can get screened for cervical cancer . Women also need to be assured that they will have support and care in the event of abnormal cervical cancer screening results .”
The plan is the result of a 2022 summit where primary care providers and public health leaders representing 42 of the 67 Alabama counties came together to identify barriers , facilitators and solutions to cervical cancer prevention and control in the state . Alabama is the first and only state in the country to launch such a plan .
WINDSHIELD TOUR OF MEDICALLY UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES
The O ’ Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center ’ s Office of Community Outreach and Engagement recently hosted a windshield tour of several rural underserved communities in the Alabama Black Belt as part of an 18-month program called A Family Affair , which supports rural African American breast cancer survivors and their female family members .
The windshield tour — a drivethrough visual survey of communities so health professionals can see the environments of their patient population — highlighted the lived experiences of rural breast cancer survivors , including their distance from health care and resources .
The visit included a tour of the Edmundite Mission Center in Selma , as well as sites in counties around the state , including Perry , Hale , Marengo , Greene and Sumter counties .
A Family Affair will offer navigation , screening and psychosocial supportive toolkits for breast cancer survivors . This program is made possible through funding by Gilead .
— KIM HANNON
— HADLEY TURNER
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