UCAN is excited to support initiatives across the state that align with our State Cancer Plan priorities and advance progress towards lowering the cancer burden and eliminating cancer inequities.
regional food access action plan
Utah County Health Department will partner with the health departments of Summit and Wasatch counties, community members, and regional partners in sectors including housing, transportation, education, economic development, and community development to create a regional food access action plan and steering committee to reduce the prevalence and burden of food insecurity in the region using policy, systems, and environmental approaches to the social determinants of health.
Priority Area: Increase Food Security Among Utahns
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food security and food choice for refugees and new americans
The International Rescue Committee will expand healthy eating programming and food access for refugees and new Americans in Salt Lake County through community-based food navigation resources provided by trained youth engaged in the New Roots SLC Youth Agriculture, Livestock, and Leadership (Y’ALL) program; weekly food boxes of culturally relevant produce to newly resettled households; and access to community gardens.
Priority Area: Increase Food Security Among Utahns
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healthier neighborhood parks through sun protection interventions
Investigators at the University of Utah will partner with the Utah Recreation and Parks Association and three local governmental Parks and Recreation departments to decrease unprotected sun exposure through park-based interventions including posted messages on UV risks, sunscreen dispensers, and a sun protection resource toolkit. These interventions will be informed by sustained community engagement practices and will prioritize parks in racially/ethnically diverse and low-income communities.
Priority Area: Create Healthy Neighborhood Environments in Utah
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Wasatch county active communities
Wasatch County Health Department is partnering with a community planner and the local school system to implement improvements in walkability/movability infrastructure in Wasatch County, informed by the previously completed CDC Active Communities Tool.
Priority Area: Create Healthy Neighborhood Environments in Utah
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policies in utah that affect community health
Get Healthy Utah will partner with The Utah Foundation to conduct a policy analysis around policy decisions that affect active and healthy lifestyles, as well as the related fiscal and physical and mental health costs to the public. The analysis will look especially at land use and transportation-related policies, as well as at populations and geographic areas that experience disparities in offerings or health outcomes. Get Healthy Utah will then work on convening a group to work on policy across Utah.
Priority Area: Create Healthy Neighborhood Environments in Utah
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hpv vaccination in the era of covid-19
Investigators at the Huntsman Cancer Institute will use state-level immunization registry data as well as surveys and focus groups to develop and test the effectiveness and scalability of tailored reminder interventions embedded into health technology systems to improve adolescent HPV immunization uptake, completion, and catch-up among publicly insured, rural and frontier, and/or Hispanic adolescents with low HPV immunization rates in Utah.
Priority Area: Improve Access to High-Quality Healthcare Services for All Utahns
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transportation assistance for breast and gynecologic cancer patients
Healthcare providers at the Huntsman Cancer Institute will pilot a transportation assistance program for breast and gynecologic cancer patients along the Wasatch Front and in Tooele and Uintah counties. Eligible patients will be able to receive either gas cards, shuttle service, or ride share service to support access to healthcare services.
Priority Areas: Increase Access to High-Quality Healthcare Services for All Utahns, Reduce Financial Toxicity Among Utah Cancer Survivors
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