Evaluating the urban-rural paradox: The complicated relationship between distance and the receipt of guideline-concordant care among cervical cancer patients.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Urban-rural health disparities are often attributed to the longer distances rural patients travel to receive care. However, a recent study suggests that distance to care may affect urban and rural cancer patients differentially. We examined whether this urban-rural paradox exists among patients with cervical cancer.

Methods

We identified individuals diagnosed with cervical cancer from 2004 to 2013 using a statewide cancer registry linked to multi-payer, insurance claims. Our primary outcome was receipt of guideline-concordant care: surgery for stages IA1-IB1; external beam radiation therapy (EBRT), concomitant chemotherapy, and brachytherapy for stages IB2-IVA. We estimated risk ratios (RR) using modified Poisson regressions, stratified by urban/rural location, to

SUBMITTER: Spees LP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6321781 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature