Telehealth: Reducing or increasing cancer care disparities?

Authors

null

Patricia Jewett

University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN

Patricia Jewett , Rachel I. Vogel , Rahel G. Ghebre , Arpit Rao , Jane Yuet Ching Hui , Helen Parsons , Anne Hudson Blaes

Organizations

University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, Univ of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, Department of Hematology, Oncology and Transplantation, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN

Research Funding

No funding received
None

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, most cancer care in the United States transitioned to telehealth (phone or video visits) to reduce infection risks for patients and providers. Telehealth may simplify care logistics (e.g. reduce travel and waiting times), but it may also unintentionally exacerbate existing disparities in healthcare utilization by race/ethnicity, age, or rural/urban status. As telehealth will likely continue long-term, we examined telehealth use at a comprehensive cancer center during the COVID-19 pandemic across patient populations with established disparities in cancer treatment and outcomes. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed telehealth visits from March until December 2020 among individuals diagnosed with cancer at the University of Minnesota Masonic Cancer Center (MCC). We used Chi-squared tests and GEE logistic regression to compare video vs. phone visits by age, urban/rural status, and race/ethnicity (American Indian / American Native [AIAN], Asian, Non-Hispanic Black/African American [NH Black/AA], Hispanic, Multiple, Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander [NHPI], NH White). Results: Over the study period, 42,171 telehealth visits were performed with 11,097 patients at the MCC. Patients had a mean age of 62.7±13.9 years; 59.2% were female; 88.7% lived in urban areas; 90.0% of patients were NH White, 4.4% NH Black/AA, 3.0% Asian, 1.5% Hispanic, 0.8% AIAN, 0.3% of multiple races, and 0.1% NHPI. The most common cancer sites were breast (24.1%), hematological (21.0%), gynecologic (10.0%), and lung (8.4%). NH White individuals were more likely (53.9%) to use video than AIAN (39.7%), Black/AA (37.8%), or NHPI individuals (34.9%). Video use was less common among rural (45.3%) than urban (53.7%; p<.0001) residents, and among individuals aged 65 or older (45.2%) vs. younger than 65 (59.5%; p<.0001). In a logistic regression, adjusted for continuous age and urban/rural status, all race/ethnic groups except Multiple were less likely to use video than NH White individuals (vs. phone; Table). Conclusions: Our findings underscore disparities in telehealth use for cancer care across historically underserved populations. Future research should evaluate potential underlying contributors to these disparities such as technology access, internet capability, and fear of discrimination. Additional research is also needed to determine whether video vs. phone visits affect cancer outcomes, therefore indicating true disparity.

Logistic regression, adjusted for age and urban/rural status: use of video vs. phone, University of Minnesota Masonic Cancer Center, March-December 2020.

Race / Ethnicity
Odds Ratio
95% Confidence Interval
P
American Indian / Alaskan Native
0.53
0.35-0.79
.002
Asian
0.68
0.56-0.83
.0002
Non-Hispanic Black
0.43
0.36-0.51
<.0001
Hispanic
0.64
0.49-0.84
0.002
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
0.47
0.24-0.93
.03
Non-Hispanic Multiple
0.71
0.41-1.24
.23
Non-Hispanic White
1 (Ref.)


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Abstract Details

Meeting

2021 ASCO Annual Meeting

Session Type

Poster Session

Session Title

Care Delivery and Regulatory Policy

Track

Care Delivery and Quality Care

Sub Track

Telemedicine/Remote Care

Citation

J Clin Oncol 39, 2021 (suppl 15; abstr 1582)

DOI

10.1200/JCO.2021.39.15_suppl.1582

Abstract #

1582

Poster Bd #

Online Only

Abstract Disclosures