Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39363389›Full record

ArticleHealth economics2025

Socioeconomic inequalities in waiting times for breast cancer surgery.

Maria Ana Matias, Rita Santos, Luigi Siciliani, Peter Sivey, Andrew Proctor

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Health economics, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Maria Ana MatiasCentre for Health Economics, University of York, York, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-8782-3311
Rita SantosCentre for Health Economics, University of York, York, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-7953-1960
Luigi SicilianiCentre for Health Economics, University of York, York, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-1739-7289
Peter SiveyCentre for Health Economics, University of York, York, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-3703-615X
Andrew ProctorDepartment of Oncology, York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, York, UK.

Funding

National Institute for Health and Care Research PR-PRU-1217-20301
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Prompt access to cancer care is a policy priority in several OECD countries, because delayed access can exacerbate deleterious health outcomes. Access to care based on need remains a key pillar of publicly-funded health systems. This study tests for the presence of inequalities in waiting times by socioeconomic status for patients receiving breast cancer surgery (mastectomy or breast conserving surgery) in England using the Hospital Episode Statistics. We investigate separately the pre-COVID-19 period (April 2015-January 2020), and the COVID-19 period (February 2020-March 2022). We use linear regression models to study the association between waiting times and income deprivation measured at the patient's area of residence. We control for demographic factors, type and number of comorbidities, past emergency admissions and Healthcare Resource Groups, and supply-level factors through hospital fixed effects. In the pre-COVID-19 period, we do not find statistically significant associations between income deprivation in the patient's area of residence and waiting times for surgery. In the COVID-19 period, we find that patients living in the most deprived areas have longer waiting times by 0.7 days (given a mean waiting time of 20.6 days).

Indexed as

Breast NeoplasmsCOVID-19MastectomySocioeconomic FactorsWaiting ListsAdultAgedEnglandFemaleHealthcare DisparitiesHealth Services AccessibilityHumansMiddle AgedTime-to-Treatmentaccessbreast cancerinequalitieswaiting times

Identifiers

PMID39363389
PMCPMC11700930

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.