Outreach
Outreach
Reducing the Burden of Cancer in Central Pennsylvania
One of the key goals of Penn State Cancer Institute is to reduce the burden that cancer places on our communities, especially among particularly vulnerable or susceptible groups.
Through its Office for Cancer health Equity (OCHE), the Cancer Institute provides a number of services, educational opportunities and consultations to help meet this goal across its 28-county catchment area.
About Our Catchment Area
Penn State Cancer Institute's 28-county catchment area comprises 4 million people. Demographics of that group include:
- 85 percent non-Hispanic white
- 5 percent African-American
- Harrisburg is a majority-minority (52 percent) African-American city, 52 percent
- 8 percent Hispanic/Latino
- Reading is a majority-minority (58 percent) Hispanic/Latino city
- 19 percent older than 65
- 42 percent rural
- 19 of 28 counties are Appalachian
Priority populations for Penn State Cancer Institute are those in rural, Hispanic/Latino and African-American communities.
Penn State Cancer Institute, in collaboration with Penn State’s Social Science Research Institute and Population Research Institute, produces detailed data and maps on the population, health care systems and cancer within the PSCI catchment area and Pennsylvania.