ArticleHealth services research2022
Disparities in geographic access to medical oncologists.
Article in Health services research, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 23 citations in OpenAlex.
- Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics associated with rehabilitation services utilization in older women with early-stage breast cancer from SEER-Medicare 2009-2018.Journal of cancer survivorship : research and practice · 2026Article
- County-level socioeconomic status, rurality, and second primary cancer risk among breast cancer survivors in the United States.Cancer causes & control : CCC · 2025Article
- Geographic Access to Cancer Care and Breast Cancer Treatment in Low-Income Women.Medical care · 2025Article
- Drive Time to Physicians and Outcomes for Bladder Cancer.JU open plus · 2025Article
- Neighborhood disadvantage is associated with treatment access outcomes and survival among individuals with a primary brain tumor.Neuro-oncology practice · 2025Article
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- The intersection of travel burdens and financial hardship in cancer care: a scoping review.JNCI cancer spectrum · 2024Article
- Improving Rural Clinical Trial Enrollment: Recommendations From the Rural Health Working Group of the Alliance Clinical Trials Network.Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology · 2024Article
- Geographic Disparities in Access to Neurologists and Multiple Sclerosis Care in the United States.Neurology · 2024Article
- GIS-based assessment of spatial and temporal disparities of urban health index in Shenzhen, China.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Disparities in geospatial patterns of cancer care within urban counties and structural inequities in access to oncology care.Health services research · 2023Article
- Disparities in spatial access to neurological care in Appalachia: a cross-sectional health services analysis.Lancet regional health. Americas · 2023Article
- Population-Based Impact of Rurality and Neighborhood-Level Socioeconomic Disadvantage on Pediatric Cancer Mortality in Washington State.Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology · 2023Article
- Disparities in geographic access to medical oncologists.Health services research · 2022Article
- Navigating Dual Burdens: Financial Burdens and Travel Burdens Among Rural-Dwelling Cancer Survivors.Cancer control : journal of the Moffitt Cancer CenterArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveThe objective of this study is to identify disparities in geographic access to medical oncologists at the time of diagnosis. DATA SOURCES/STUDY
setting2014-2016 Pennsylvania Cancer Registry (PCR), 2019 CMS Base Provider Enrollment File (BPEF), 2018 CMS Physician Compare, 2010 Rural-Urban Commuting Area Codes (RUCA), and 2015 Area Deprivation Index (ADI). STUDY
designSpatial regressions were used to estimate associations between geographic access to medical oncologists, measured with an enhanced two-step floating catchment area measure, and demographic characteristics. DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION
methodsMedical oncologists were identified in the 2019 CMS BPEF and merged with the 2018 CMS Physician Compare. Provider addresses were converted to longitude-latitude using OpenCage Geocoder. Newly diagnosed cancer patients in each census tract were identified in the 2014-2016 PCR. Census tracts were classified based on rurality and socioeconomic status using the 2010 RUCA Codes and the 2015 ADI. PRINCIPAL
findingsLarge towns and rural areas were associated with spatial access ratios (SPARs) that were 6.29 lower (95% CI -16.14 to 3.57) and 14.76 lower (95% CI -25.14 to -4.37) respectively relative to urban areas. Being in the fourth ADI quartile (highest disadvantage) was associated with a 12.41 lower SPAR (95% CI -19.50 to -5.33) relative to the first quartile. The observed difference in a census tract's non-White population from the 25th (1.3%) to the 75th percentile (13.7%) was associated with a 13.64 higher SPAR (Coefficient = 1.10, 95% CI 11.89 to 15.29; p < 0.01), roughly equivalent to the disadvantage associated with living in the fourth ADI quartile, where non-White populations are concentrated.
conclusionsRurality and low socioeconomic status were associated with lower geographic access to oncologists. The negative association between area deprivation and geographic access is of similar magnitude to the positive association between larger non-White populations and access. Policies aimed at increasing geographic access to care should be cognizant of both rurality and socioeconomic status.
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