Jan 10th Dr. Paula Show, 11:00AM: Dr. Rachel Caskey

The United States Congress has designated January as Cervical Health Awareness Month. Nearly 13,000 women in the United States are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year, but over the last 30 years the cervical cancer death rate has gone down by more than 50%. The disease is can be preventable with vaccination and appropriate screening (Pap and HPV tests). Screening can find changes in the cervix before cancer develops. It can also find cervical cancer early, when it is small, has not spread, and is easiest to cure. The National Cervical Cancer Coalition (NCCC) and the American Sexual Health Association (ASHA)  offer a range of resources (click here, and here) about cervical health.

In observance of Cervical Health Awareness month, The Dr. Paula Show will be re-airing our interview with Dr. Rachel Caskey, MD, MAPP, on Tuesday, January 10th at 11 AM, at uicradio.org. Dr. Caskey will discuss her work to improve HPV vaccination rates for low-income minority youth. You can read Dr. Caskey’s bio below.

Dr. Caskey is an Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) College of Medicine and School of Public Health and Chief of the Division of Academic General Internal Medicine and Geriatrics at UIC. She is board certified in both pediatrics and internal medicine and is a primary care provider for all ages. She is a health services researcher and her research focuses on investigating novel mechanisms to positively impact and incentivize health behaviors which result in improved health outcomes, streamlined healthcare systems and cost savings.  Her recent projects include efforts to improve adolescent HPV vaccination rates; studying alternate HPV vaccine delivery mechanisms (including school-located delivery) to improve adolescent vaccination and exploring ways to improve the use of effective contraception among women.  Dr. Caskey has an appointment at UIC’s school of public health in the division of maternal child health and is a member of the UIC Cancer Center where she collaborates on efforts to reduce the incidence of cervical cancer.  She is a long-standing member of the UIC Collaborative for Excellence in Interprofessional Education which focuses on incorporating interprofessional education into the curriculum for all health professional students.

Do you have an idea for a Dr. Paula Show topic? Is there someone you would like to hear interviewed on the topic of health literacy? Share you suggestions with us! Contact Brienne Lowry at bdavis7@uic.edu.