Priority Area: Cancer & Chronic Conditions

Success Measure:
100,000
fewer people with chronic conditions by 2030
GOAL: Save lives through access to lung, colorectal and breast cancer screenings; Expand detection and treatment of chronic conditions.
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REASON: Nearly two-thirds of preventable premature death in Louisiana is due to cancer and uncontrolled chronic conditions. The rate of multiple chronic conditions in Louisiana is 13%. The US rate is 10%.
LA Rate
14.8%
US Rate
11.2%
Multiple Chronic Conditions: Percentage of adults with three or more chronic conditions.

‍Source:  AHR 2023‍‍

Success Measures

Percentage of adults with multiple chronic conditions

2020 Baseline
12.3%
2023 Actual
14.8%
2030 Target
9.5%

What we should know and do to drive change:

Breast Cancer
Colorectal Cancer
Lung Cancer
Hypertension
Diabetes
Issue specific to Breast Cancer
Louisiana has the fourth highest breast cancer death rate in the country. (LCP)
LA Incidence Rate
127.5
US Incidence Rate
127
LA Mortality Rate
22.4
US Mortality Rate
19.6
Source: NIH 2016-2020
Who is affected most?
  • Black women are diagnosed more frequently and more likely to die from breast cancer than the national average
  • Those who are overweight and use alcohol
Source
Solutions
  • Improve breast cancer screening rate and early detection of cancer. Screening and early detection can lead to reduced cancer-related deaths and improved outcomes for individuals diagnosed with cancer (LCP)
  • If breast cancer is caught early, the survival rate is close to 100%. It is even 72% at stage 3 with regular screenings. This shows the effectiveness of no-cost mammograms (LCP)
  • Reducing obesity and reducing alcohol consumption can lower risks of breast cancer.
Breast cancer in my community
See the rate in your area: Source: LSU Health
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Source: NIH
How do I find out more?
Issue specific to Colorectal Cancer
Louisiana has the fifth highest colorectal cancer death rate in the country (LCP)
LA Incidence Rate
44.3%
US Incidence Rate
36.5%
LA Mortality Rate
15.6%
US Mortality Rate
13.1%
Source: NIH
Text Link
Who is affected most?
  • Risk Factors for colorectal cancer include tobacco use, eating processed foods and red meat, obesity, and lack of screening
  • African Americans and Cajuns are more susceptible to the disease
Source
Solutions
  • Increase early screening for colorectal cancer
  • When caught early, colorectal cancer has a 90% survival rate, showing the success rate of screening (LCP)
  • Healthy eating
Colorectal cancer rate in my community
See the rate in your area: Source: LSU Health
‍
Sourde: NIH
How do I find out more?
  • Screenup is working towards increasing cancer screening rates at Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) throughout the state (LCP Screen Up)
  • Louisiana Colorectal Cancer Roundtable works to increase screening rates and with partners, issues a legislative report each year that outlines the problem, data, progress, barriers and recommendations (LCP Report)
  • Colorectal screenings and their pros and cons (American Cancer Society’s explanation)
  • Symptoms of colorectal cancer (LCP)
Issue specific to Lung Cancer
1 out of 3 people who die in Louisiana from cancer, die from lung cancer. (LCP)
LA Incidence Rate
61.5%
US Incidence Rate
54%
LA Mortality Rate
43.5%
US Mortality Rate
35%
Source: NIH
Source: NIH
Who is affected most?
  • More than 80% of lung cancers are caused by smoking and secondhand smoke. See page on Smoking Cessation
  • Men
  • Those who identify as black
  • Adults over 50
  • Adults who are exposed to secondhand smoke at home or at work
Source
Solutions
Source
Lung cancer rate in my community
See the rate in your area: Source: LSU Health
‍
Source: NIH
How do I find out more?
Issue specific to Hypertension
WIN!! Since 2020, Louisiana’s rank for adults who reported having a dedicated healthcare provider improved from 27th to 15th in the nation.

Heart diseases and stroke are the leading and fifth-leading causes of death in theUnited States, respectively. High blood pressure (or hypertension) is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Based on America’s Health Ranking’s data, in 2021, more than 700,000 deaths in the U.S. were caused by complications of high blood pressure (AHR) 
LA Rate
40.2%
US Rate
32.4%
Source: AHR
Who is affected most?
  • Adults over 65
  • Men compared to women
  • Black and American Indian/Alaskan Native adults compared with Asian Adults
  • Adults with lower socioeconomic status compared with those with higher socioeconomic status
  • Adults with less than a high school degree
  • Adults with an annual household income less than $25,000
  • Adults living in non-metropolitan areas compared with those in metropolitan areas
  • Risk factors include smoking, overweight and obesity, physical inactivity, high blood pressure and high cholesterol
Source
Solutions
Improve control of hypertension among adults in Louisiana through improving access to high quality care and reducing risk factors:
  • Remote monitoring programs improve hypertension and diabetes control through earlydetection of complications, better patient engagement, and reduced healthcare cost.Ochsner hypertension and diabetes digital medicine programs. (Ochsner Health)
  • Value-based payment models are more effective in achieving better health outcomes byincentivizing providers to achieve certain quality metrics.
  • Access to primary care is associated with prevention of illness and death. (NIH)
High blood pressure rate in my community
PLACES provides model-based, population-level analysis and community estimates of health measures to all counties, places (incorporated and census designated places), census tracts, andZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs) across the United States. Learn more about PLACES. Click the map below to be directed to the CDC heat map and navigate to Hypertension (highblood pressure). Learn more about PLACES.
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Issue specific to Diabetes
Diabetes was the eighth leading cause of death in the United States in 2021. Based on America’s Health Ranking’s data, diabetes accounts for more than 100,000 deaths annually. Those with diabetes are twice as likely to have heart disease or a stroke than those without diabetes (AHR)
LA Rate
14.7%
US Rate
11.5%
Source: AHR
In Louisiana…
‍Percentage of adults who reported ever being told by a health professional that they have diabetes (excluding prediabetes and gestational diabetes):
Source: AHR
Who is affected most?
  • Adults over 65
  • Men
  • Black and American Indian/Alaskan Native adults
  • Adults with less than a high school degree
  • Adults with an annual household income less than $25,000
  • Adults living in rural areas
Source
Diabetes rate in my community
PLACES, a collaboration between CDC, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the CDC Foundation, provides health data for small areas across the country. This allows local health departments and jurisdictions, regardless of population size and rurality, to better understand the burden and geographic distribution of health measures in their areas and assist them in planning public health interventions.

PLACES provides model-based, population-level analysis and community estimates of health measures to all counties, places (incorporated and census designated places), census tracts, and ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs) across the United States. Learn more about PLACES.
Click the map below to be directed to the CDC heat map and navigate to Diabetes.
Solutions
Improve control of diabetes among adults in Louisiana through improving access to high quality care and reducing risk factors:
    • Value-based payment models are more effective in achieving better health outcomes by incentivizing providers to achieve certain quality metrics. Expand partnership to more payors and providers to participate in value-based payment programs to improve rates of hypertension and diabetes control among adults within Louisiana.
    • Access to primary care improves health outcomes by providing preventative care, early detection, and timely treatment.
    • Remote monitoring programs improve hypertension and diabetes control through early detection of complications, better patient engagement, and reduced healthcare cost.
    MORE INFORMATION:
    LOUISIANA EXPERIMENT ASSESSING DIABETES – ZERO DOLLAR COPAYMENT (LEAD-ZDC):     LEAD-ZDC is a prospective observational study to assess the effectiveness of zero dollar copayment for select common diabetes medications on patients’ medication adherence, blood glucose (A1c) control, diabetes complications, and healthcare utilization. Tulane University is leading the study in collaboration with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana and REACHnet partners in Louisiana. Tulane
    Download our Healthy State Fact Sheet on Cancer and Chronic Conditions
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