Abstract
Socioeconomic and demographic factors associated with type of facility (cancer center vs non-cancer center) at which a child with cancer is seen were identified to suggest interventions to increase access to state-of-the-art care. The 2268 children with cancer in Florida (1981-1986) were classified as ever having been seen or not having been seen at a cancer center. Patients referred from one type of facility to another were compared to those not referred. Nineteen percent of children with cancer were never seen at a cancer center. These children were likely to be older (15-19 years of age), have Hodgkin's disease or a brain tumor, reside in a county without a cancer center, or have higher median income. Interventions extending state-of-the-art cancer care beyond cancer centers should target (1) physicians treating adolescent-aged children and (2) patients for whom private insurance may serve as a barrier to referral and protocol therapy.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 535-544 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Journal of Clinical Epidemiology |
Volume | 46 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1993 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Cancer care facilities
- Cancer centers
- Childhood cancer
- Predictors of referral
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Medicine(all)
- Epidemiology
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health