New study shows American Cancer Society program helps...( ATLANTA June 13 2008 Newly publish...),Health

ATLANTA June 13, 2008 Newly published research conducted by the American Cancer Society and the University of Washington's Health Promotion Research Center finds the Society's Workplace Solutions consulting program to be successful in guiding employers to implement cost-effective chronic disease prevention strategies. The nonprofit Society considers the research validation of its unique ability to help employers control cost while improving access to affordable cancer prevention.

The study, "Employer Adoption of Evidence-based Chronic Disease Prevention," appears in the July, 2008 issue of Preventing Chronic Disease, a publication of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

"Great progress is being made in the fight against cancer," said Elmer E. Huerta, M.D., M.P.H., national volunteer president of the American Cancer Society. "Yet, 47 million uninsured and 25 million underinsured people in America lack access to quality health care. The American Cancer Society's work with employers to help them maintain a culture that fosters a healthy lifestyle through policies and programs that lower the risk of cancer, detect the disease earlier, and provide access to high-quality treatment is critically important to our achieving our mission."

Describing the goal of the study, co-author and Society product manager Jeff Cross said, "Historically, it's been more difficult to prevent chronic diseases than to pay for them. Our goal is to make it easier for employers to prevent cancer and other chronic diseases in the workforce."

The Society's Workplace Solutions consulting program is designed around evidence-based public health practices, including recommendations from the U.S. Task Force on Community Preventive Services which have been scientifically evaluated and shown to consistently improve key health behaviors including tobacco cessation, healthy eating habits, physical activity, and increased use of clinical preventiv
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