Health Disparities

Summary

Documenting the extent and understanding the causes of disparities in accessing and receiving cancer-related health services is a major cross-cutting research theme supported by the Health Services and Economics Branch (HSEB). We study health disparities by race/ethnicity and the socioeconomic status of individuals and by the socioeconomic characteristics of the community environment.

Studies & Initiatives

• The monograph, "Methods for Measuring Cancer Disparities: A Review Using Data Relevant to Healthy People 2010 Cancer-Related Objectives ", was written under contract by the Applied Research Program and provides an empirical analysis of methods appropriate for measuring cancer disparities. This report raises conceptual issues and reviews different methodological approaches germane to measuring progress toward the goal of eliminating cancer-related health disparities, and assists in monitoring progress toward the Healthy People cancer objectives.
• The NCI-sponsored Cancer Care Outcomes Research and Surveillance Consortium (CanCORS) project, a prospective study of 10,000 patients with newly diagnosed lung or colorectal cancer, is examining disparities in the receipt of state-of-the-science cancer care and factors that contribute to disparities in outcomes, and to identify ways to lessen those disparities.

Tools & Data Sources

The California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) cancer control items, co-supported by NCI, collect detailed information on the use of cancer screening services by racial/ethnic groups not well covered by other surveys, including Hispanics, Asians, Pacific-Islanders, and African-Americans.

The Health Disparities Calculator (HD*Calc), which is supported by the Applied Research Program and the Surveillance Research Program within NCI's Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, is statistical software designed to generate multiple summary measures to evaluate and monitor health disparities. HD*Calc allows the user to import SEER data or other population-based health data and calculate any of eleven disparity measurements.

Workshops & Conferences

In September 2008, a workshop entitled Methodological and Conceptual Issues in Conducting Research on Racial/Ethnic Discrimination in Healthcare Delivery , sponsored by several institutes of the National Institutes of Health, was held in Bethesda, MD.

In February 2011, a conference entitled The Science of Research on Discrimination and Health, sponsored by the NCI, was held in Bethesda, MD. The agenda for the conference and an archived videocast are available. A related journal supplement was published in May 2012.

Publications

A supplement (May 2012) to the American Journal of Public Health aims to highlight the need for and state of empirical research on racial/ethnic discrimination and its association with the health and health care received by racial/ethnic minority populations.

Publications: Health Disparities includes articles on studies that have examined cancer-related health disparities by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status.