Equity-Oriented Healthcare: What It Is and Why We Need It in Oncology

Alarming differences exist in cancer outcomes for people most impacted by persistent and widening health and social inequities. People who are socially disadvantaged often have higher cancer-related mortality and are diagnosed with advanced cancers more often than other people. Such outcomes are lin...

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Main Authors: Tara C. Horrill, Annette J. Browne, Kelli I. Stajduhar
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-01-01
Series:Current Oncology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1718-7729/29/1/18
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author Tara C. Horrill
Annette J. Browne
Kelli I. Stajduhar
author_facet Tara C. Horrill
Annette J. Browne
Kelli I. Stajduhar
author_sort Tara C. Horrill
collection DOAJ
description Alarming differences exist in cancer outcomes for people most impacted by persistent and widening health and social inequities. People who are socially disadvantaged often have higher cancer-related mortality and are diagnosed with advanced cancers more often than other people. Such outcomes are linked to the compounding effects of stigma, discrimination, and other barriers, which create persistent inequities in access to care at all points in the cancer trajectory, preventing timely diagnosis and treatment, and further widening the health equity gap. In this commentary, we discuss how growing evidence suggests that people who are considered marginalized are not well-served by the cancer care sector and how the design and structure of services can often impose profound barriers to populations considered socially disadvantaged. We highlight equity-oriented healthcare as one strategy that can begin to address inequities in health outcomes and access to care by taking action to transform organizational cultures and approaches to the design and delivery of cancer services.
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spelling doaj.art-593dadc7997f4bdb8053a7ebef073b6a2023-11-23T13:25:54ZengMDPI AGCurrent Oncology1198-00521718-77292022-01-0129118619210.3390/curroncol29010018Equity-Oriented Healthcare: What It Is and Why We Need It in OncologyTara C. Horrill0Annette J. Browne1Kelli I. Stajduhar2School of Nursing, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 2B5, CanadaSchool of Nursing, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 2B5, CanadaSchool of Nursing, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC V8P 5C2, CanadaAlarming differences exist in cancer outcomes for people most impacted by persistent and widening health and social inequities. People who are socially disadvantaged often have higher cancer-related mortality and are diagnosed with advanced cancers more often than other people. Such outcomes are linked to the compounding effects of stigma, discrimination, and other barriers, which create persistent inequities in access to care at all points in the cancer trajectory, preventing timely diagnosis and treatment, and further widening the health equity gap. In this commentary, we discuss how growing evidence suggests that people who are considered marginalized are not well-served by the cancer care sector and how the design and structure of services can often impose profound barriers to populations considered socially disadvantaged. We highlight equity-oriented healthcare as one strategy that can begin to address inequities in health outcomes and access to care by taking action to transform organizational cultures and approaches to the design and delivery of cancer services.https://www.mdpi.com/1718-7729/29/1/18health equityhealthcare accessibilityhealth servicescultural safetycancer
spellingShingle Tara C. Horrill
Annette J. Browne
Kelli I. Stajduhar
Equity-Oriented Healthcare: What It Is and Why We Need It in Oncology
Current Oncology
health equity
healthcare accessibility
health services
cultural safety
cancer
title Equity-Oriented Healthcare: What It Is and Why We Need It in Oncology
title_full Equity-Oriented Healthcare: What It Is and Why We Need It in Oncology
title_fullStr Equity-Oriented Healthcare: What It Is and Why We Need It in Oncology
title_full_unstemmed Equity-Oriented Healthcare: What It Is and Why We Need It in Oncology
title_short Equity-Oriented Healthcare: What It Is and Why We Need It in Oncology
title_sort equity oriented healthcare what it is and why we need it in oncology
topic health equity
healthcare accessibility
health services
cultural safety
cancer
url https://www.mdpi.com/1718-7729/29/1/18
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