Hospitals serving large Black, Latino populations have fewer resources for cancer care

Key takeawaysUCLA researchers looked at nearly 4,400 hospitals across the U.S., including 864 with high numbers of Black and Hispanic patients.Hospitals serving Black, Hispanic and other racial and ethnic minority patients were significantly less likely than other hospitals to have access to core cancer services like PET/CT scanners, robotic surgery and palliative care.The researchers say further work is need to understand how geographic, linguistic, cultural, cost and discrimination factors affect these cancer care disparities.  Among the nation ’s hospitals, those that serve high numbers of Black and Hispanic patients are far less likely to have advanced medical equipment and critical services that have been shown to boost the quality and effectiveness of cancer care, according to a study led by investigators at theUCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.The findings,published today in JAMA Oncology, highlight the importance of ensuring accessibility across diverse health care facilities to equitable and quality care for all patients diagnosed with cancer.“When it comes to treating people with cancer, we know adequate resources are essential for quality care,” said Dr. GracieHimmelstein, a resident physician in the department of medicine at theDavid Geffen School of Medicine at UCLAand first author of the study. “And we know what hospital you go to has a big impact on sort of what care you get. A big piece of why that is has to do with the resources that ar...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news