Cancer Disparities Experienced by People with Disabilities

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 2022 · DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19159187 · Published: July 27, 2022

Simple Explanation

People with disabilities encounter obstacles in accessing healthcare, impacting their cancer experience. This includes increased exposure to risk factors, difficulties in obtaining healthcare, and unequal experiences in screening, diagnosis, and treatment. These barriers include individual challenges, such as anxiety about procedures, interpersonal issues like poor communication with healthcare providers, and environmental factors, such as a lack of accessible transportation and medical equipment. To reduce cancer disparities, it's essential to train healthcare professionals, create accessible prevention programs, provide disability-relevant health information, advocate for supportive policies, conduct research using disability identifiers, and fund high-quality research.

Study Duration

Not specified

Participants

Not specified

Evidence Level

Commentary

Key Findings

1
People with disabilities report disproportionately higher rates of risk factors, including obesity, cigarette smoking, and substance misuse.
2
Women with disabilities are less likely to receive a recommendation from a physician for mammography screening.
3
People with disabilities involving mobility and activity limitations had signiﬁcantly higher rates of ovarian cancer, prostate cancer, colorectal cancer, and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma than people without disabilities.

Research Summary

People with disabilities, a growing and disadvantaged group, face persistent barriers to healthcare and have a high prevalence of chronic health conditions. They experience cancer health disparities due to vulnerabilities to risk factors, barriers to accessing healthcare, and disparities in screening, diagnosis, and treatment. Addressing these disparities requires commitment from stakeholders, including governmental agencies, healthcare providers, researchers, and advocates, to increase understanding of cancer in the context of disability.

Practical Implications

Medical Education Reform

Integrate disability and cancer information into medical curricula to reduce bias and improve care for patients with disabilities.

Accessible Program Development

Create community-based prevention programs tailored to people with disabilities to address cancer risk factors.

Policy Advocacy

Advocate for policies that eliminate system barriers and ensure equitable healthcare access for people with disabilities.

Study Limitations

1
Focuses primarily on physical disabilities, potentially overlooking disparities experienced by those with intellectual, developmental, sensory, or psychiatric disabilities.
2
Limited information on understanding the disparities, and much less on methods for reducing them.
3
Scope is limited

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