Ethnic and Socioeconomic Disparities in the Staging, Treatment, and Overall Survival of Colorectal Cancer Patients in Hawai‘i
Date
2021
Authors
Contributor
Advisor
Department
Instructor
Depositor
Speaker
Researcher
Consultant
Interviewer
Narrator
Transcriber
Annotator
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Volume
Number/Issue
Starting Page
Ending Page
Alternative Title
Abstract
There has been a decline in colorectal cancer (CRC) mortality rates, which reflects the declining incidence rates and medical advances in early detection and treatment. Despite this progress, CRC incidence and mortality varies considerably by ethnicity and socioeconomic status (SES). Evidence also shows that these medical advances are significantly under-utilized in vulnerable populations including minority and less affluent groups. In Hawai‘i, incidence rates are highest in Japanese Americans, and the majority of late stage CRC are diagnosed in Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders (NHPIs), who also have the highest mortality from this disease.The purpose of this study was to investigate ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in the staging, treatment, and overall survival of CRC patients in Hawaiʻi. This study was a retrospective analysis of CRC patients who have been diagnosed and/or treated at The Queen’s Medical Center (QMC) in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. Data was collected and analyzed from 1,939 CRC patients from all islands of Hawaiʻi who were seen at QMC from January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2018.
Both ethnicity (p=0.0499) and insurance (p=0.0005) were significantly associated with AJCC staging. NHPIs and individuals who were under-insured were more likely to be diagnosed with an AJCC stage 4. SES was found to have a significant effect on overall survival (p<0.0001), date of initial diagnosis to date of first treatment (p<0.0001), date of initial diagnosis to date of surgery (p<0.0001), and date of surgery to date of first chemotherapy (p<0.0001), whereas ethnicity had no significant effect.
Ethnic disparities are slowly diminishing, whereas socioeconomic disparities persist. The results of this study may be applicable to other underserved populations--particularly other minority ethnic groups and those of low SES. Increasing health discussions and promoting CRC screening within these high-risk groups, lowering financial barriers, and increasing access to healthcare for the under-insured could potentially increase screening participation, which can ultimately address and reduce any ethnic or socioeconomic disparities in all CRC patients.
Description
Keywords
Public health, Medicine, Health sciences, cancer, colorectal, disparities, ethnic, health, socioeconomic
Citation
Extent
80 pages
Format
Geographic Location
Time Period
Related To
Related To (URI)
Table of Contents
Rights
All UHM dissertations and theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission from the copyright owner.
Rights Holder
Local Contexts
Collections
Email libraryada-l@lists.hawaii.edu if you need this content in ADA-compliant format.