Investigating The Association Between Social Disorganization, Health-Related Quality Of Life, And Prostate Cancer Diagnoses In African American Men

Abstract

Currently, Prostate cancer is the number one cancer among all men in Illinois with 42,773 identified cases between 2002 and 2006 for all races (Illinois Department of Public Heath (IDPH), Illinois Cancer Registry, 2008). Additionally, African American men living in Cook County have the highest rate for all racial groups at 227.1 per 100,000 between 2002 and 2006 (IDPH, Illinois Cancer Registry, 2008). This proposed research attempts to identify any influences of social disorganization on health-related quality of life (HRQL) in African American men living in south suburban cook county in Illinois with Prostate Cancer diagnosis using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) to measure and map disability by zip code using Geographic Information System (GIS). The proposed research attempts to identify preventable risk factors during phase one and in phase develop a community intervention for men at risk for prostate cancer, by increasing HRQL of African American men with current diagnosis of prostate cancer