The impact of COVID‐19 on cancer care of outpatients with low socioeconomic status

Autor(en)

Elisabeth L. Zeilinger, Simone Lubowitzki, Matthias Unseld, Carmen Schneckenreiter, Daniel Heindl, Philipp B. Staber, Markus Raderer, Peter Valent, Sabine Zöchbauer‐Müller, Rupert Bartsch, Gerald Prager, Ulrich Jaeger, Alexander Gaiger

Abstrakt

Patients with low socioeconomic status (SES) are among the most underserved groups of people regarding cancer care. Analyzing the impact of the coronavirus-induced disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on health care disparities and calling attention to inequalities in cancer care is crucial to justify and initiate adequate countermeasures. We aimed to determine whether the COVID-19 pandemic aggravated health care disparities of cancer outpatients related to their SES and analyzed patient data of the largest university center providing services for patients with hematologic and oncologic disorders in Austria from 2018 to 2021. SES was assessed using three indicators: monthly net household income, level of education and occupational prestige. In total, 1217 cancer outpatients (51.1% female) with a mean age of 59.4 years (SD = 14.2) participated. In the first year of the pandemic, the relative proportion of individuals with low income, low education level and low occupational prestige seeking cancer care at our outpatient center decreased significantly (P ≤.015). The strongest indicator was income, with a consistent effect throughout the first pandemic year. Countermeasures and specific interventions to support cancer patients with low SES in their access to health care should be initiated and prioritized.

Organisation(en)

Externe Organisation(en)

Medizinische Universität Wien

Journal

International Journal of Cancer

Band

151

Seiten

77-82

Anzahl der Seiten

6

ISSN

0020-7136

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1002/ijc.33960

Publikationsdatum

07-2022

Peer-reviewed

Ja

ÖFOS 2012

501010 Klinische Psychologie

Schlagwörter

ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete

Oncology, Cancer Research

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 3 – Gesundheit und Wohlergehen

Link zum Portal

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/fe51708d-cb92-4fd7-aaf0-9cfb16579337