According to CDC, https://www.cancer.gov Americans living in rural areas are more likely to carry a higher burden of cancer than their counterparts in urban settings.
These rural “cancer hotspots” also face major gaps in broadband access and adoption which often putting promising connected care solutions far out of reach.
In 2017, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the Connect2Health FCC Task Force joined to establish the Linking & Amplifying User-Centered Networks through Connected Health or called the “L.A.U.N.C.H initiative”. L.A.U.N.C.H was initiated as a multi-stakeholder collaborative to address rural cancer care as related to quality symptom management.
Why address the need especially in Appalachian Kentucky? In Appalachia, cancer incidence and mortality are higher than in other rural regions of the country. Patients may also present younger and at more advanced stages.
Patients diagnosed with cancer in rural Appalachia often face additional challenges in managing their symptoms and receiving care. This may include economic insecurity, geographic isolation, transportation challenges, plus other health concerns and limited specialty care. Also, in Kentucky, lower rates of broadband and adoption are available as compared to some other parts of the U.S.
L.A.U.N.C.H addresses 5 core issues:
- Cutting-edge symptom management enabled by broadband—This demonstration project will focus on how broadband connectivity can be leveraged to improve symptom management for rural cancer patients. Early deliverables will include a Platform for Agile Development to be called the L.A.U.N.C.H Pad to help communities co-design better cancer symptom management tools and practices using connectivity
- Robust cross-sector collaboration—This collaboration combines government, academia, and private sector partners to work together help cancer patients in rural communities
- User-centered design methodologies—Empowering rural communities is not just about the deployment of new technologies but to be successful long term, most include a process of ground level inquiry and listening. L.A.U.N.CH project will couple field-based empirical inquiry with a bold vision for the future of connected cancer care
- Sustainability and Scalability—Thinking nationally and acting locally, the project will address sustainable, scalable solutions for solving local health challenges through the use of connectivity. In Kentucky, the project aims to show that connectivity can improve access to needed healthcare services anywhere in the country.
- Improved broadband access and adoption for health—The L.A.U.N.C.H project will focus on areas that face the dual challenge of higher cancer mortality rates along with lower levels of broadband access and adoption
Current Collaborators include the National Cancer Institute, FCC’s-Connect2Health Task Force, Amgen, The Design Lab at UCSD, and the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center.
Go to https://fcc.gov/sites/default/files/launch-connected-cancer-care-appalachia.pdf for more information on L.A.U.N.C.H.