Disparities in breast cancer care delivery: solving a complex puzzle

Excerpt

Breast cancer care delivery is known to be uneven in the United States [1]. Clinicians and researchers have long observed differences in the process and outcomes of care for women diagnosed with breast cancer that can be attributed to observable individual and societal characteristics [2‐6]. Researchers have reported noteworthy differences in screening, diagnosis, treatment, and mortality by age, race, ethnicity, geographic location, education, and income. It is important to recognize there are contradictory findings in the literature, specifically regarding the relationship between race/ethnicity and quality of chemotherapy care. The seminal Institute of Medicine report Unequal Treatment recognized these differences and the broader impact of disparities in health care delivery on the nation’s health [7]. The report’s authors noted the complexity in both understanding and remedying the current state. A persistent challenge to correcting disparities in breast cancer care delivery is the limited understanding of the reasons for the observed disparities [8]. …