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Does Geography and Place of Residence Affect Cancer Care: An Interview Study

NCT03836794 · Status: COMPLETED · Type: OBSERVATIONAL · Enrollment: 20

Last updated 2021-02-18

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

There is existing evidence that rural cancer patients tend to have worse survival outcomes. Potential reasons include: differences in endurance of coping with illness, different attitudes about illness, the nature of rural lifestyles, and poorer access to healthcare services. Some of these factors may affect their delay in presentation of cancer, and/or delay in seeking treatment in a timely manner. Differences in health outcomes between urban and rural populations have been described in a number of health conditions, and to date survival/health outcomes related to cancer have been the most extensively researched. Rurality has been associated with negative impacts on cancer outcomes in studies from the United Kingdom and elsewhere. However, as with rural health disadvantage overall, the underlying causes are uncertain. There is some evidence that rural populations are less likely to engage with screening services and receive lower rates of chemotherapy and surgery. If restricted access to services was the major determinant of poorer cancer outcomes for rural populations, this should also be reflected in longer delays to diagnosis and treatment for cancer for those patients living more remotely. However, a recent study from the Northeast of Scotland contradicts this, finding that rural patients in Scotland were diagnosed and treated for their cancers quicker than their urban counterparts, but died earlier . The investigator's proposed research aims to provide insights into differences between how urban and rural patients engage with health services in National Health Service (NHS) Grampian by interviewing patients about their diagnostic pathway, their interactions with the healthcare service, their treatment choices, and how these may have been influenced by where they live.

Conditions

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • University of Aberdeen

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Romi A Carriere, MPH · University of Aberdeen

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
100 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2019-03-03
Primary Completion
2020-03-03
Completion
2020-03-03

Countries

  • United Kingdom

Study Locations

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Entities

Diseases

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT03836794 on ClinicalTrials.gov