According to the American Association for Cancer Research, cancer mortality in the United States dropped by 33% between 1991 and 2020. Much of this decrease can be attributed to public health campaigns and early cancer detection, highlighting the transformative power of equitable access to medically sound information—a driving principle behind Gale Health and Wellness.
As trusted institutions, public and academic libraries are uniquely positioned to broaden community awareness about precautionary measures and early detection during National Cancer Prevention Month in February. Using your subscription to Gale Health and Wellness, users can explore educational materials created for the layperson, including plain-language guides to prevention strategies, visual aids for early detection, practical insights into healthier living, and more.
Gale Health and Wellness’s strength lies in its suitability for both the general public and academic researchers. Alongside trusted resources for everyday use, the platform provides unparalleled access to a globally-sourced collection of peer-reviewed journals, epidemiological studies, and comprehensive datasets. These resources empower rigorous academic research, shaping the future of cancer prevention and treatment.
To start thinking about National Cancer Prevention Month, let’s discuss how you can use Gale Health and Wellness’s cancer topic page to support awareness at the community level and power research at the university level.
Gale Health and Wellness for Public Libraries
For many, the search for health information begins in moments of fear and uncertainty—a sudden family diagnosis or unfamiliar symptoms—creating an urgency to find reliable answers.
While consulting with a doctor or other medical professionals is a must, providing timely and accurate information can empower people to take early, and potentially life-saving, action. However, being able to effectively support your community requires resources that are reliable, up-to-date, and accessible.
Promote Gale Health and Wellness’s user-friendly platform to help bridge the gap between complex medical research and pressing health concerns. Library users can find visual guides for understanding conditions and plain-language overviews of treatment options organized into searchable topic pages.
Intuitive interface and accessibility tools offer options for translation into more than 50 languages, adjustable font sizes, and text-to-speech capabilities. This helps position your library as a welcoming place for all patrons to research their health concerns.
With support from Gale Health and Wellness, public libraries can assert their role as partners in health through curated content displays, awareness campaigns, and social media posts. These efforts also help pave the way for deeper engagement through community outreach initiatives—such as workshops and healthcare partnerships—that more directly address barriers to health equity.
Overcoming Health Disparities with Cancer Prevention and Early Screening Workshops
Breast cancer remains the most frequently diagnosed cancer among American women, accounting for 11.6% of all new cancer diagnoses in 2022. When detected early, localized breast cancer cases have a 99% five-year relative survival rate. That said, breast cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death among women in the United States.
Library workshops can make a real, positive impact in your community by breaking down barriers to early detection—particularly in underserved populations, where access to routine screenings is often limited. Consider featuring guest speakers, such as local healthcare professionals, who can stress the importance of early detection, walk attendees through what to expect during screenings, and answer questions.
Partnering with local health providers to offer mobile mammograms during or after these sessions can help overcome logistical challenges and encourage participation. Check for existing resources in your county or metro area, such as mobile health units or local health department initiatives. This can bring potentially lifesaving care to those who need it most.
If setting up an on-site screening isn’t feasible, librarians can still support early detection with take-home information from Gale Health and Wellness. If you want to create a pamphlet or one-sheeter for your patrons, consider looking at Cancer Screening Guidelines for Women for recommendations from the American Cancer Association on screening frequency. You can also check out Breast Cancer Screening Tests: What Every Woman Should Know for a list of symptoms to monitor for and what to expect if they find a lump.
The CDC has a state-by-state directory for the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program, which provides breast and cervical cancer screenings to low-income, underinsured, and uninsured women.
Gale Health and Wellness for Academic Libraries
Cancer research is a rapidly evolving field with exciting new discoveries emerging constantly. However, for institutional libraries, ensuring access to the latest studies with multiple subscription-based services can be expensive and unwieldy to manage.
Gale Health and Wellness provides academic users with access to cutting-edge research from top scientists and academics worldwide—all within a single subscription. Its curated collection of more than 11 million articles offers insight into the latest global studies so university researchers can follow the latest advancements in the medical field.
Advancing Cancer Prevention
Academic research demands access to specialized information. A subscription to Gale Health and Wellness serves as a portal to a wealth of articles on cancer and cancer research, including more than 119,000 academic journal articles. This expertise is sourced from trusted, peer-reviewed publications and continually updated to reflect the field’s most recent and authoritative studies.
In addition to academic journals, Gale Health and Wellness hosts more than 550,000 news articles and 350,000 magazine articles, keeping users informed on breaking news and commentary on cancer research developments.
To make navigating the vast array of available content easier, the platform features tools designed for advanced research workflows.
For example, Topic Finder organizes search results into visual clusters that make conducting literature reviews more manageable. A student analyzing past research into the efficacy of cancer prevention programs in underserved communities can drill down into targeted studies while mapping out related areas for further probing by identifying gaps in the existing literature.
Similarly, Gale Health and Wellness makes creating annotated bibliographies more efficient. Within the platform, students will find tools that allow them to highlight text and create notes without leaving the page. When it’s time to compile their work, students can rely on the APA citations so they’re confident in adhering to academic standards without needing external generators.
Enriching Curriculum Development and Teaching Practices
University instructors face ongoing challenges in ensuring their course materials remain current, academically rigorous, and engaging, making Gale Health and Wellness an indispensable resource for integrating the latest research into their teaching.
One possible use case is a public health professor who wants to introduce students to the impact of environmental factors on cancer rates by examining the connections between pollution policies and health outcomes. With a search on Gale, they will find everything they need to inform their teaching, from epidemiological studies into the link between air pollution and major disease categories to news on the latest EPA bans on carcinogenic materials.
To further expand the discussion, the professor can also turn to the platform for information about government policies designed to reduce pollution-related cancer risks and the associated results, helping students understand how scientific evidence can positively impact public policy.
Toward a Brighter, Cancer-Free Future
With a subscription to Gale Health and Wellness, libraries can advance the future of cancer treatment and prevention by driving public awareness and powering future research. In public libraries, the platform equips your patrons with the tools to guide them toward making informed, evidenced-backed health decisions. Academic libraries provide researchers with the latest studies and insights from the world’s most respected journals, fueling solutions to today’s medical challenges.
To learn more about how your library community can benefit from Gale Health and Wellness, please check out our “Finding Trustworthy Medical Information” tutorial and fill out the contact form to speak to your local sales representative.