Work

Racial/Ethnic Differences in Receipt of Timely Adjuvant Therapy for Older Women with Breast Cancer: Are Delays Influenced by the Hospitals Where Patients Obtain Surgical Care?

Year: 2013

Type: article

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To examine whether hospitals where patients obtain care explain racial/ethnic differences in treatment delay. DATA SOURCE: Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results data linked with Medicare claims. STUDY DESIGN: We examined delays in adjuvant chemotherapy or radiation for women diagnosed with stage I-III breast cancer during 1992-2007. We used multivariable logistic regression to assess the probability of delay by race/ethnicity and included hospital fixed effects to assess whether hospitals explained disparities. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Among 54,592 women, black (11.9 percent) and Hispanic (9.9 percent) women had more delays than whites (7.8 percent, p < .0001). After adjustment, black (vs. white) women had higher odds of delay (odds ratio = 1.25, 95 percent confidence interval = 1.10-1.42), attenuated somewhat by including hospital fixed effects (OR = 1.17, 95 percent CI = 1.02-1.33). CONCLUSIONS: Hospitals are the important contributors to racial disparities in treatment delay.

Source: Health Services Research

DOI: 10.1111/1475-6773.12063

Authors: Rachel A. Freedman, Yulei He, Eric P. Winer, Nancy L. Keating

Institutions: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard University, Brigham and Women's Hospital

Language: English

Topic: Health disparities and outcomes

Subfield: Health

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Reduced inequalities, Good health and well-being

Open Access status: bronze