Florence Tangka, PhD, MS

Florence Tangka, PhD, MS, is a health economist in the Division of Cancer Prevention and Control’s Epidemiology and Applied Research Branch. She is the principal investigator for a number of CDC cancer economics studies. Her research focuses on the economics of cancer, economics of the National Program of Cancer Registries, economics of cancer screening programs, and use of breast and cervical cancer screening services. Dr. Tangka also serves as a professor at the Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University.

Dr. Tangka received a Bachelor of Science from the University of Reading in the United Kingdom and a Masters from Rutgers (both degrees are in agricultural economics). In 2008, she received an alumni award from Rutgers. She received her doctoral degree from the University of Florida, Department of Food and Resource Economics, and completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship in Prevention Effectiveness at CDC. She is a member of the National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable.

Dr. Tangka has authored and coauthored many publications in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of the National Medical Association, Health Economics, American Journal of Managed Care, Cancer, Medical Care, Health Promotion Practice, Cancer Causes & Control, American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Gastroenterology and Preventing Chronic Diseases. She has been interviewed by many national media outlets, including CNN Radio, the Associated Press, CBS News Radio, USA Today, Bloomberg News, Columbus Dispatch News, Medscape Oncology, and The Wall Street Journal.

Dr. Tangka leads CDC’s effort in the Health Insurance Coverage Status by Age, Race, Hispanic Origin, Sex, and Income for Counties and States project. This project provides estimates of the low-income, uninsured populations at the state and county levels, published as a data set called Small Area Health Insurance Estimates, which are the only source for estimates of health insurance coverage status for all counties in the nation. They are the result of a multi-year collaboration between CDC’s Division of Cancer Prevention and Control and the Census Bureau’s Small Area Estimates Branch.

The most recent articles Dr. Tangka has first-authored include—

• 2017 Racial and ethnic disparities among state Medicaid programs for breast cancer screening.
• 2016 Importance of implementation economics for program planning—evaluation of CDC’s Colorectal Cancer Control Program.
• 2016 Costs of promoting cancer screening: Evidence from CDC’s Colorectal Cancer Control Program (CRCCP).
• 2016 Resource requirements for cancer registration in areas with limited resources: analysis of cost data from four low- and middle-income countries.
• 2015 Cost of operating central cancer registries and factors that affect cost: findings from an economic evaluation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Program of Cancer Registries.
• 2015 Cervical cancer screening of underserved women in the United States: results from the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program, 1997–2012.
• 2014 End-of-life medical costs of Medicaid cancer patients.
• 2013 State-level estimates of cancer-related absenteeism costs.
• 2013 Clinical costs of colorectal cancer screening in 5 federally funded demonstration programs.
• 2013 State-level cancer treatment costs: How much and who pays?
• 2011 Economic assessment of central cancer registry operations, Part III: Results from 5 programs.
• 2010 Cancer treatment cost in the United States: Has the burden shifted over time?
• 2010 Meeting the cervical cancer screening needs of underserved women: The National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program, 2004–2006.
• 2008 Cost of starting colorectal cancer screening programs: Results from five federally funded demonstration programs.
• 2006 Meeting the mammography screening needs of underserved women: the performance of the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program in 2002–2003 (United States).
• 2005 Market for colorectal cancer screening by endoscopy in the United States.

Dr. Tangka is featured in the following podcasts—

• Costs of Colorectal Cancer Screening
• Costing Tool for International Cancer Registries