Low, current, and persistent poverty area residence and social risks among Black cancer survivors

Background: Persistent area-level poverty may contribute to long-term social and economic disinvestment and fewer health promoting resources even compared with current area-level poverty. This may contribute to unmet social needs, which are associated with adverse health outcomes. This study examines associations between living in persistent (vs. current and low) poverty areas and prevalence of social needs among African American cancer survivors. Methods: We utilized data from 3,650 participants in the Detroit Research on Cancer Survivors (ROCS) cohort. African American adults were invited to participate if they were ages 20-79 at diagnosis with breast, colorectal, lung, prostate, or endometrial cancer (ages 20-79) or any other cancer (ages 20-49) and identified through a population-based cancer registry. Area-level poverty was categorized at the census tract level as persistent (>=20% of residents with incomes =20% Results: At ROCS enrollment, 34% of participants lived in persistent, 33% in current, and 33% in low poverty areas. Overall, 39% reported any social needs, and prevalence was higher in persistent (45%) relative to both current (40%; p=0.023) and low poverty areas (25%; p-trend Impact: Current and persistent area-level poverty were associated with prevalence of most social needs. Prevalence of any social needs was higher in persistent vs. current poverty areas. Long-term social disinvestment associated with persistent poverty may contribute to additional social needs beyond those in current poverty areas.