Examining Urban and Rural Differences in How Distance to Care Influences the Initiation and Completion of Treatment among Insured Cervical Cancer Patients.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Although rural cancer patients encounter substantial barriers to care, they more often report receiving timely care than urban patients. We examined whether geographic distance, a contributor to urban-rural health disparities, differentially influences treatment initiation and completion among insured urban and rural cervical cancer patients. METHODS:We identified women diagnosed with cervical cancer from 2004 to 2013 from a statewide cancer registry linked to multipayer, insurance claims. Primary outcomes were initiation of guideline-concordant care within 6 weeks of diagnosis and, among stage IB2-IVA cancer patients, completion of concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) in 56 days. We estimated risk ratios using modified Poisson regressions, stratified by urban/rural status, to ex

SUBMITTER: Spees LP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6500480 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature