Information for Health, Education and Planning Professionals
Information for Health, Education and Planning Professionals provides access to Texas Cancer Information databases and documents and external websites that may be
useful to health professionals, educators and/or planning professionals. Some of the databases and documents included are
Access to Care for Low-Income and Uninsured Patients, Physicians,
Facilities and Services, Cancer Control and Statistics.
You also will find suggestions on how to search the databases for the information you need.
To help direct you to the information you need, we have pre-selected the Texas Cancer Information databases and documents
that may interest you or be useful as sources of referrals for your patients or clients:
The new Access to Cancer Care for Low-Income and Uninsured Patients feature of the Web site is intended to reach low-income or uninsured Texans seeking free or low-cost cancer screening or treatment. Texas Cancer Information staff investigated procedures, contacts and clinic locations for screening and treatment for several Texas counties. Information on how to obtain cancer care services in each of these counties is now available for download in PDF format in simple language and question and answer format. Social workers or volunteer organizations can also print out this information to give to their clients.
The Texas Cancer Plan states that Texans need to know the major risk factors for specific
cancers so they can be proactive in their health care. It is important
that people be aware of their own risk factors and that
they adhere to the recommended schedule for
screenings and examinations for the cancers for which
they are at risk. For example, a woman with a family
history of breast cancer should inform her physician
about her family history to determine an appropriate
and tailored screening schedule. The Cancer Risk Factors page contains questions and answers that provide information
regarding cancer risk factors and where to find more information on cancer risk behaviors.
Texas Cancer Information collects and provides information on Texas physicians who have a primary interest in the diagnosis,
treatment or continuing care of cancer patients.
Texas Cancer Information provides information on cancer-related facilities and services including hospitals, community cancer treatment centers, mammography services,
colon cancer screening services, home health agencies and hospices.
Texas Cancer Information collects and provides referral information on support, counseling, education, and additional assistance such as transportation, housing, and medical equipment. The information listed for each resource in the Local/Community Information and Support Resources database is based on its responses to the annual Community Resource Database Update survey. Original listings were derived from the Community Resource Directory previously maintained by the National Cancer Society's Cancer Information Service (CIS) serving Texas. Included in the database are general information, services provided, and Texas counties served.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines Comprehensive Cancer Control as a collaborative process through which a community pulls resources together
to reduce the burden of cancer. This collaboration results in risk reduction, early detection, better treatment and enhanced survivorship for members of the community.
Texas Cancer Information maintains Web sites and databases that provide information regarding cancer control goals and activities throughout the state of Texas. The Cancer Control
section of the site includes:
Texas Cancer Information provides easy access to cancer-related demographics and statistics for Texas and its counties and regions. In this section you will find
cancer incidence (coming soon), cancer mortality and age-adjusted rates, graphical PDF profiles of cancer mortality and resources in selected Texas counties and regions,
the ability to generate non-graphical profiles for any county in Texas, information on cancer risk factors, and networking information for tumor registrars in the state.
Links by Topic, formerly the Cancer Gateway of Texas, is an Internet portal to cancer-related information,
resources, and publications. Links are reviewed for quality using a predetermined criteria and are organized by cancer topic and cancer type. These links include
Web sites based in Texas as well as those found across the country. Texas based sites are identified by a small Texas icon.
Selected Links
Visit these other Web sites for additional information regarding cancer prevention, screening and early detection:
- Dental Oncology Education Program (DOEP)
"The Dental Oncology Education Program (DOEP) initiatives are directed at increasing the effectiveness of dental professionals in oral
cancer prevention and early detection, and management of oral sequelae of cancer therapy. Ideally, every dental office should be an oral
cancer prevention and detection center."
- Nurse Oncology Education Program (NOEP)
"The Nurse Oncology Education Program (NOEP) is a statewide cancer education project of the Texas Nurses Foundation. Established in 1987 and
generously funded by the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, NOEP is designed to educate and empower all nurses in all practice settings about cancer prevention,
detection, treatment and rehabilitation."
- Physician Oncology Education Program (POEP)
"The Texas Medical Association formed the Physician Oncology Education Program (POEP) to carry out the recommendations of the Texas Cancer Plan. The
POEP is primarily funded by the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas and is by a steering committee who are keenly interested in and knowledgeable about all facets of
the cancer problem in Texas."
- Texas State Data Center and Office of the State Demographer
Texas State Data Center and Office of the State Demographer, in cooperation with a network of affiliates, functions as a focal point for the distribution
of Census information for Texas. The Center also disseminates population estimates and projections for Texas, as well as other information from the
federal government, state government, and other sources. The census data is available through the website with explanations on the differences between them.
- Department of State Health Services
DSHS is an agency of the Texas Health and Human Services System, which collects and reports data on a number of health issues, including Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance
and cancer incidence and mortality through the Texas Cancer Registry. The website provides data and reports on various topics ranging from hospitals and HMOs
to the cancer registry and HIV/AIDS.
- National Cancer Institute, Cancer Control and Population Sciences
Expanding Data Resources Across the Cancer Continuum. This site has augmented data collection on risk factors; health behaviors, such as tobacco use, diet,
and physical activity; cancer screening; treatment; and quality of life for cancer survivors. For example: They have collected nationwide tobacco tracking
data in the Tobacco Use Supplement to the Current Population Survey (TUS-CPS) and conducted an in-depth evaluation, through the Cancer Research Network, of
tobacco control activities within medical practices across the United States. They have also enhanced dietary and physical activity data collected by the
National Center for Health Statistics (see National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)). The site also monitors cancer screening activities to
track their adoption and performance. For example: Through the Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium, they linked mammography screening data in diverse
communities to cancer outcomes to provide national measures of mammography performance. They have conducted national surveys among physicians in the areas of
colorectal cancer screening practices and use of genetic testing for cancer susceptibility to examine the adoption of new advances in cancer risk assessment
and screening. In keeping with the rapidly expanding interest in quality of cancer care, NCI has made major advances in supporting research on the development
and use of data systems for tracking evidence-based measures of quality care: They have evaluated consensus development conference reports, and NCI clinical
alerts. For example, in patterns of care studies within the SEER registry system, they are collecting detailed data from physicians' offices to study the extent
to which patients are receiving recommended treatments for many cancers, including breast, colorectal, prostate, and cervical cancer.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC)
The CDC is a leader in nationwide cancer prevention and control. The CDC website on cancer includes the United States Cancer Statistics: 2001 Incidence and
Mortality Report and the State Cancer Burden Data fact sheets. The fact sheets contain data on lung cancer, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, and prostate
cancer. They include the estimated number of new cancer cases and cancer deaths, and the age-adjusted mortality rates for cancer deaths by race for each state.
Available in Spanish.
- National Comprehensive Cancer Control Program (NCCCP)
CDC supports Comprehensive Cancer Control (CCC)—a collaborative process through which a community and its partners pool resources to reduce the burden of cancer.
- Cancer Control Planet
Cancer control planners, program staff, and researchers have the same goals: to reduce cancer risk, the number of new cancer cases, and the number of
deaths from cancer, as well as enhance the quality of life for cancer survivors. While many share the same goals, all do not have easy access to
resources that can facilitate the transfer of evidence-based research findings into practice. This PLANET portal provides access to data and resources
that can help planners, program staff, and researchers to design, implement and evaluate evidence-based cancer control programs.
- Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS)
The BRFSS, is the world's largest telephone survey, which tracks health risks in the United States. Scientific research has clearly shown that personal
health behaviors play a major role in premature morbidity and mortality. As a result, surveys were developed and conducted to monitor state-level prevalence
of the major behavioral risks among adults with the basic philosophy to collect data on actual behaviors, rather than on attitudes or knowledge, that would
be especially useful for planning, initiating, supporting, and evaluating health promotion and disease prevention programs. There are multiple databases
with national and state specific data available.
- Agency for Healthcare Policy and Research (AHCPR)
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) research provides evidence-based information on health care outcomes; quality; and cost, use, and access.
Information from AHRQ's research helps people make more informed decisions and improve the quality of health care services.
- A Model for Developing a Contextual Community Health Profile
The Contextual Community Health Profile is a comprehensive description of the health status of a specific community. This Contextual Community Health Profile description
includes community health status information that is typically included in a community health needs assessment. In addition, it captures
cultural and environmental information about a specific community.
