Initiatives / CLEAR / Community Lung Health Pilot
Community Lung Health Pilot · ISP 2026009
Lung cancer early detection, brought to the community.
A community-based pilot in the Memphis Mid-South, learning whether a simple cheek-swab risk assessment, paired with support to reach follow-up care, helps more people at risk of lung cancer get evaluated.
Why this program
The case for acting now.
Only 18% of U.S. adults recommended for lung cancer screening have been screened.
Low-burden risk assessments could help reach more people in community settings and connect them to follow-up.
There is little U.S. evidence on how newer risk assessments work in real community settings.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Screening for Lung Cancer (2026).
Who it's for
The people this program serves.
Adults 18 and older in the Memphis Mid-South, reached through community settings, not only those who meet current screening criteria.
Priority indicators
In their words
- “As someone who has never been screened, I want a simple way to understand my risk.
- “As someone with a result that needs follow-up, I want help getting to the right care.
- “As a community member, I want testing to come to places I already go.
The journey
Every step, from start to finish.
Each Implementation Support Program finds what works and scales it rapidly. Here is the path this one follows.
What it involves
Barriers in, support out.
- Cheek-swab risk assessment
- Results communication
- Navigation to follow-up evaluation
- Measurement at every step
What we measure
Every step, measured.
Also measured
- Reach, enrollment and engagement
- Distribution of results and turnaround time
- Follow-up completion and time to follow-up
- Barriers, facilitators and readiness to scale
Timeline
20 weeks, from activation to impact report.
Timing depends on partner alignment and on governance, protocol and IRB requirements.
Our commitments
Independent and non-promotional.
The cheek-swab risk assessment does not replace low-dose CT or any other clinically indicated evaluation. Care decisions stay with participants and their clinicians. Status: protocol in development, pending governance, regulatory and IRB determination.
Implementation Support Programs are sponsored separately from AHIS campaigns, and every sponsor is named here once an agreement is signed. The program follows a defined protocol, run under AHIS governance and the MONARCH operating standard for implementation measurement. Sponsors may help identify implementation challenges, populations or outcomes of interest. Design, governance and evaluation stay independent. Sponsors receive aggregate, de-identified results only.
Overseen by the AHIS Board in Phase 1 of AHIS governance, and by the Implementation Advisory Committee from Phase 2. Impact reports are shared publicly, including what didn't work.
Get involved.
Host a community site, become an implementation hub, or support the pilot.
