Journal
SUPPORTIVE CARE IN CANCER
Volume 27, Issue 12, Pages 4779-4786Publisher
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/s00520-019-04742-z
Keywords
Cancer survivorship; Financial toxicity; Rural health; Health disparities; Survey research
Funding
- Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- National Cancer Institute [3 U48 DP005000-01S2, 3 U48 DP005006-01S3, 3 U48 DP005014-01S2, 3 U48 DP005013-01S1A3, 3 U48 DP005017-01S8]
- NCI [1K07CA211971-01A1]
- Clinical and Translational Science Awards program [UL1 TR002319]
- Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) [5 U1CRH30539-03-00]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Purpose Rural cancer survivors may disproportionately experience financial problems due to their cancer because of greater travel costs, higher uninsured/underinsured rates, and other factors compared to their urban counterparts. Our objective was to examine rural-urban differences in reported financial problems due to cancer using a nationally representative survey. Methods We used data from three iterations of the National Cancer Institute's Health Information and National Trends Survey (2012, 2014, and 2017) to identify participants who had a previous or current cancer diagnosis. Our outcome of interest was self-reported financial problems associated with cancer diagnosis and treatment. Rural-urban status was defined using 2003 Rural-Urban Continuum Codes. We calculated weighted percentages and Wald chi-square statistics to assess rural-urban differences in demographic and cancer characteristics. In multivariable logistic regression models, we examined the association between rural-urban status and other factors and financial problems, reporting the corresponding adjusted predicted probabilities. Findings Our sample included 1359 cancer survivors. Rural cancer survivors were more likely to be married, retired, and live in the Midwest or South. Over half (50.5%) of rural cancer survivors reported financial problems due to cancer compared to 38.8% of urban survivors (p = 0.02). This difference was attenuated in multivariable models, 49.3 and 38.7% in rural and urban survivors, respectively (p = 0.06). Conclusions A higher proportion of rural survivors reported financial problems associated with their cancer diagnosis and treatment compared to urban survivors. Future research should aim to elucidate these disparities and interventions should be tested to address the cancer-related financial problems experienced by rural survivors.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available