Health Disparity

Health disparity research attends to the ways in which individuals and populations receive differential access to health care based on demographic factors such as race, ethnicity, sexual and gender identity, socioeconomic status, immigration status, rural or urban residence, and other factors that restrict or mitigate access to health care. There are many ways in which AYAs experience health disparities when seeking care for cancer. These barriers include but are not limited to: receiving accurate, adequate, and timely diagnosis and treatment (1); financial toxicity, lack of health insurance, and lack of resources that enable access to and completion of treatment (2); lack of access to or ability to participate in clinical trials or other relevant research studies (3); age-related barriers that impact survival outcomes compared to younger children and older adults (4); inappropriate or inaccessible oncofertility and reproductive health care services for sexual and gender minority patients (5). Understanding and intervening upon these structural health inequities rooted in social identities and positionalities requires a unique lens that takes into account both medical and societal considerations.  AYA CARE pays particular attention to health disparities facing AYAs, and works to improve upon them through an integrated partnership between psychosocial reseachers and physicians, and others involved in AYA oncology service delivery. 

By Nina J Francis-Levin, PhD