Study Background & Rationale:

Current estimates suggest that one half of all Canadians will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime, and one in every four will die of their disease¹. However, the burden of cancer is not evenly distributed throughout the Canadian population. Unacceptable disparities have been documented across the cancer care trajectory in Canada, often occurring among people who experience major health and social inequities resulting from a constellation of socioeconomic, demographic, geographic, historical, and structural factors—otherwise known as the Social Determinants of Health.

In the context of cancer care, we define health and social inequities as unjust, avoidable and socially constructed differences in cancer-related health and social outcomes between and within groups of people^2-3. Research indicates that groups who experience health and social inequities are significantly more likely to be diagnosed with cancers that are preventable; to be diagnosed with late-stage disease for screening-detectable cancers; to receive insufficient treatment for their disease; to die from cancers that are typically curable; and to receive insufficient pain and symptom management across the cancer care trajectory^4-5.  While these outcomes are paid increasing attention in the Canadian oncology literature, very little is known about how healthcare providers (HCPs) in oncology settings identify people affected by cancer who may have lived/living experience of health and social inequities.

Aim & Research Questions:

As part of a larger program of research being conducted by the Cancer Health Equity Collaborative, the purpose of this study is to

The findings of this qualitative, interpretive description study will support the design and implementation of equity-oriented service delivery at BC Cancer—the comprehensive cancer control program for the province of British Columbia (BC).

Methods:

This qualitative study is guided by the analytic direction of Interpretive Description. This inductive approach is designed to create experiential evidence that offers practical solutions to problems encountered by health professionals in their practice settings. Semi-structured interviews will be conducted with HCP participants from different professional backgrounds and different cancer care settings across BC.

Study Team