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Review
. 2020 Jul 19;2(3):74-116.
doi: 10.13023/jah.0203.09. eCollection 2020.

Experiencing Cancer in Appalachian Kentucky

Melanie McComsey  1 , David Ahern  2 , Robin C Vanderpool  3 , Timothy W Mullett  4 , Ming-Yuan Chih  5 , Meghan Johnson, Michele Ellison, Karen Onyeije, Bradford W Hesse, Eliah Aronoff-Spencer
Affiliations
Review

Experiencing Cancer in Appalachian Kentucky

Melanie McComsey et al. J Appalach Health. .

Abstract

Quilted Appalachian Sunset©2011 Jim Harrisjim-harris.pixels.com Nothing tells the story of people working together better than a community quilt. A diversity of talents, colors, and materials brought together through skill and shared purpose. Perhaps never before have we as Americans needed a stronger reminder that many hands make short work of big problems. The work presented here by the L.A.U.N.C.H. Collaborative offers a new framework for health care that could be compared to a digital quilt, powered by community-based participatory design, with lived expertise and the newest advances in broadband-enabled connected health solutions. This work demonstrates the value and need to engage local communities and what can be learned when beneficiaries and traditional caregivers work together to develop healthcare solutions.

Keywords: Appalachia; broadband; cancer; communications; connectivity; rural health.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclaimer: The statements, analyses, and conclusions set forth in this article are those of the named authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the authors’ respective organizational affiliation or other organizations that are part of the L.A.U.N.C.H. Collaborative, including the FCC and NCI. No competing financial or editorial interests were reported by the authors of this paper.

Figures

None
Quilted Appalachian Sunset ©2011 Jim Harris jim-harris.pixels.com
Figure 1
Figure 1
Model of the Interrelated Frameworks
Figure 2
Figure 2
In eastern Kentucky, even basic infrastructure requires colossal feats of engineering. Modernization projects alter the landscape in unmistakable ways, leaving visual evidence of the tension between preservation and progress. Photo credit: Melanie McComsey.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The fear of urban traffic among eastern Kentuckians is so ubiquitous that it was leveraged in an advertising campaign for Pikeville Medical Center, which urged the public to “fight cancer, not traffic” by staying local. Photo credit: Melanie McComsey.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. NIH and CDC. National Cancer Institute and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. State Cancer Profiles 2012–2016. 2020. www.statecancerprofiles.cancer.gov .
    1. ARC. Health Disparities in Appalachia. 2017. https://www.arc.gov/research/researchreportdetails.asp?REPORT_ID=138 . - PubMed
    1. FCC. Broadband Deployment Report. Federal Communications Commission; 2018. https://www.fcc.gov/reports-research/reports/broadband-progress-reports/... .
    1. Siegel RL, Jemal A, Wender RC, Gansler T, Ma J, Brawley OW. An assessment of progress in cancer control. CA: a cancer journal for clinicians. 2018;68(5):329–39. - PubMed
    1. Hesse BW, Ahern DK, Ellison M, et al. Barn-raising on the digital frontier: The L.A.U.N.C.H. Collaborative J Appalach Health 2020. 2 1 6 20 DOI:10.13023/jah.0201.02. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

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