What is it about?
The purpose of this study is to measure health care utilization in Australian cancer patients based on their demographics, geographic and socioeconomic backgrounds.Demographic and sociocultural factors such as advancing age, gender, low income, low education status, rurality, no private health insurance, increased psychological distress and less access to specialist care are associated with lower health care utilization among cancer patients.
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Why is it important?
The findings of lower health care utilization by those cancer patients with characteristics of disadvantage have implications for policy development and intervention design. Broadly, policies targeting structural social inequities are likely to increase health care utilization among the most affected/disadvantaged populations.
Perspectives
I believe this study will improve the understanding that demographic and sociocultural factors such as advancing age, gender, low income, low education status, rurality, lacking private health insurance, increased psychological distress and less access to specialist care were all associated with lower healthcare utilisation among cancer patients.
Rezwanul Rana
University of Southern Queensland
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Predictors of health care use in Australian cancer patients, Cancer Management and Research, July 2019, Dove Medical Press,
DOI: 10.2147/cmar.s193615.
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