The Relationship between Educational Attainment and Lung Cancer Mortality in Kentucky: Implications for Nurses
نویسنده
چکیده
Context: The professional literature indicates health has a positive correlation with socioeconomic status. More specifically, prior research documents heightened rates of lung cancer incidence and mortality in Appalachia, a region plagued by persistent poverty and below-average educational attainment. This study analyzed predictors of lung cancer mortality within Kentucky, a predominantly rural state in central Appalachia. Purpose: To determine whether county-level lung cancer mortality is related to counties’ high school graduation rates, per capita personal income levels and adult smoking rates. Also, to test whether significant differences exist among these variables between Kentucky’s Appalachian and nonAppalachian counties. Methods: Data from the Kentucky Institute of Medicine’s 2007 report The Health of Kentucky: A County Assessment were analyzed using independent samples t tests, bivariate correlations and regression analyses. Results: On a statewide basis, inverse associations were found between county-level lung cancer mortality and counties’ graduation rates (p < .001) and per capita personal income (p < .01). Statistically significant differences were detected between Kentucky’s Appalachian and non-Appalachian regions for each variable except adult smoking rates. Conclusions: In the context of similar adult smoking rates between the state’s Appalachian and nonAppalachian counties, high school graduation rates showed the strongest statistical association with lung cancer mortality. This indicates that continued improvements in Kentucky’s rate of diploma attainment may contribute to future reductions in lung cancer mortality statewide. These findings suggest practice and policy implications for nurses in Kentucky and, potentially, other states with low educational attainment and high lung cancer mortality.
منابع مشابه
Relationship between the expression of miR137 in the serum of patients with metastatic lung cancer
Background: Micro-Ribonocellic Acids (miRNA) are non-coding nucleic acids that are evolutionally protected and have a length of 24-20 nucleotides. MiRNAs control the expression of genes after transcription by mRNA degradation or translation inhibition. By blocking the oncogenic miRNAs and creating the necessary and functional miRNAs (tumor suppressor), these small regulatory RNAs can have thera...
متن کاملTrends in inequalities in premature cancer mortality by educational level in Colombia, 1998-2007.
BACKGROUND There is a paucity of studies on socioeconomic inequalities in cancer mortality in developing countries. We examined trends in inequalities in cancer mortality by educational attainment in Colombia during a period of epidemiological transition and rapid expansion of health insurance coverage. METHODS Population mortality data (1998-2007) were linked to census data to obtain age-sta...
متن کاملLung Cancer in Kentucky
ung cancer accounts for 13% of all new cancer cases — but 28% of all cancer deaths — in the United States. It ranks third in incidence, yet first in mortality. The reason for the discrepancy between the incidence and mortality rates is clear: Not only is lung cancer a common disease, it is also a severe disease with lower survival rates than other major cancers. In this issue we use data from t...
متن کاملIncreasing educational attainment and mortality reduction: a systematic review and taxonomy
BACKGROUND Understanding the relationship between increasing educational attainment and mortality reduction has important policy and public health implications. This systematic review of the literature establishes a taxonomy to facilitate evaluation of the association between educational attainment and early mortality. METHODS Following PRISMA guidelines, we searched Ovid Medline, Embase, Pub...
متن کاملThe Relationship Between Social Support and Depression in Patients with Breast Cancer
Introduction: The relationship between social support and depression can have implications for the outcome of breast cancer treatment. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine social support and its relation to depression in women with breast cancer. Methods: In this descriptive-correlational study performed in Tabriz in 2018. A total of 240 patients with breast cancer who met the inclus...
متن کامل