Addressing Disparities in Access to Cancer Care

Introduction

There has been a steady rise in the number of cancer patients and deaths from the same disease. Even though low- and middle-income countries have lower rates of cancer as compared to high-income countries, their larger populations indicate that the cancer patients are there. As a result, most cancer cases and deaths now happen in low and middle-income countries. Factors like longer life expectancy, increased population rates, urbanization, and lifestyle changes have contributed to cancer being the top cause of death in low and middle-income countries. Predictions have suggested that cancer deaths could almost double in the most poor countries. However, the perception of the cancer burden in low- and middle-income countries is affected by unreliable data from population-based cancer registries.

Why Is There a Disparity in Access to Cancer Care?

The unequal treatment of care for cancer prevails due to ongoing differences in the cause of their health concerns, such as poverty, poor access to healthcare, factors that increase cancer risk, and emotional issues. For example, in most of the rural areas that lack enough cancer specialists and transportation options, people must travel long distances for cancer treatment as a result of this. This can make it harder for them to seek the cancer care they need on time and also compromise quality. Problems with transportation also result in delayed diagnosis of cancer, less access to specialized cancer treatment, and fewer opportunities to indulge themselves in research studies for new treatments. Furthermore, biases, racism, and discrimination make certain people from certain racial or ethnic backgrounds less likely to access the healthcare system. This has been challenging for them to get the cancer care they need, worsening the gap in care between different groups of people.

How to Address Disparities in Access to Cancer Care?

1. Health Access to All: If the efforts to improve cancer care do not involve all people without discrimination, it could worsen existing disparities. If there is a chance that research studies do not include disadvantaged groups, they cannot conclude if the treatments work for everyone. So, it is very important to include a diverse range of people in cancer studies to develop treatment approaches that can help everyone equally. This unequal access and participation in cancer studies can hinder the studies on cancer causes and treatments.

2. Targeted Cancer Treatments: Genetic research databases that are implemented for creating targeted cancer treatments primarily include data from a certain descent. Crafting treatment approaches based on such minimal and unrepresentative data will worsen cancer disparities and put certain populations at a disadvantage in accessing these treatments.

3. Cost-Effective Treatment Plan: Additionally, implementing targeted cancer therapies often requires additional tests to determine eligibility, which can be expensive and complicated, especially for underprivileged groups. Consequently, only a few people from these groups benefit from effective treatments. It should also be noted that cancer studies usually take place in well-equipped clinical settings, which may not reflect the reality of community oncology settings where most cancer care happens. This means that treatments and recommendations developed in these controlled environments might not be practical or feasible in real-world community settings.

4. Better Scientific Strategies: Combined and focused efforts should be made to ensure that everyone, especially those at high risk of cancer, can benefit from advances in cancer care. Care by utilizing scientific methods that focus on finding methods to improve cancer care delivery. It should also be taken up in real-world settings with limited resources. Healthcare workers can work towards achieving fairness in cancer treatment.

5. Expansion of Resources: In low-resource settings, there is a lack of consistent and complete implementation of proven cancer control measures and treatments. While it is assumed that research findings will eventually be put into practice in these settings, that is usually not the case. Through implementation science, researchers can pinpoint the best approaches to create a practical, appropriate, enduring, and affordable way to deliver cancer care in places where resources are scarce. This will help prioritize actions to achieve the greatest health improvements with the resources at hand.

6. Barriers to Healthcare: Studies reveal that removing structural and financial obstacles to cancer screening can enhance access to these crucial health services. In settings with limited resources and unspecialized settings, strategies such as mobilizing primary and secondary caregivers, prescribing generic drugs, and leveraging regional and global mechanisms for financing and purchase have shown effectiveness in previous initiatives. These approaches help tackle barriers and make cancer screening even more accessible in limited resource settings.

7. Multidisciplinary Approach: Addressing inequalities in cancer care can be achieved by the combined efforts of a multidisciplinary team. This team should include many professionals, such as medical oncologists, pathologists, surgeons, radiologists, and radiation oncologists. Through investments in training and building the capacity of these teams, the quality and accessibility of cancer care in areas where resources are limited can be improved.

What Is the Future of Cancer Care?

• Structuralizing cancer care interventions in low-resource areas can be challenging due to hindrances like limited resources, inadequate infrastructure, insufficiently trained staff, and differences in socio-political and cultural contexts.

• Also, involving communities in the process of tailoring evidence-based treatment strategies to meet the specific needs of underprivileged populations can enhance cancer care delivery and tackle disparities.

• Additionally, research studies suggest that using culturally tailored communication methods and implementing community-centered cancer control initiatives can efficiently address disparities among specific populations facing higher disease burdens.

• Certainly, interventions that prioritize the needs of patients and ensure fairness in healthcare delivery are essential, acknowledging the prerequisites for improving capacity in many resource-limited settings.

• Additionally, the importance of research conducted in low-income countries and its contributions to global health science and addressing health inequities is never to be underestimated.

• There have been remarkable promising treatments based on cancer studies carried out in low- and middle-income countries, which have also led to significant discoveries, including the identification of new cancers, their causes, and promising treatments.

Conclusion

To ensure cancer care across all sections of people, it is important to mandate a multidisciplinary approach. Also, the government should come forward to include cancer care in national health coverage policies to support underprivileged groups. This approach can help ensure healthcare access that is clinically safe, effective, and affordable. There is also a persistent need to improve healthcare systems in low and middle-income countries.