Financial Toxicity Among Patients With Breast Cancer Worldwide: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Importance: Financial toxicity (FT) is the negative impact of cost of care on financial well-being. Patients with breast cancer are at risk for incurring high out-of-pocket costs given the long-term need for multidisciplinary care and expensive treatments. Objective: To quantify the FT rate of patients with breast cancer and identify particularly vulnerable patient populations nationally and internationally. Data Sources: A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted. Four databases-Embase, PubMed, Global Index Medicus, and Global Health (EBSCO)-were queried from inception to February 2021. Data analysis was performed from March to December 2022. Study Selection: A comprehensive database search was performed for full-text, English-language articles reporting FT among patients with breast cancer. Two independent reviewers conducted study screening and selection; 462 articles underwent full-text review. Data Extraction and Synthesis: A standardized data extraction tool was developed and validated by 2 independent authors; study quality was also assessed. Variables assessed included race, income, insurance status, education status, employment, urban or rural status, and cancer stage and treatment. Pooled estimates of FT rates and their 95% CIs were obtained using the random-effects model. Main Outcomes and Measures: FT was the primary outcome and was evaluated using quantitative FT measures, including rate of patients experiencing FT, and qualitative FT measures, including patient-reported outcome measures or patient-reported severity and interviews. The rates of patients in high-income, middle-income, and low-income countries who incurred FT according to out-of-pocket cost, income, or patient-reported impact of expenditures during breast cancer diagnosis and treatment were reported as a meta-analysis. Results: Of the 11 086 articles retrieved, 34 were included in the study. Most studies were from high-income countries (24 studies), and the rest were from low- and middle-income countries (10 studies). The sample size of included studies ranged from 5 to 2445 people. There was significant heterogeneity in the definition of FT. FT rate was pooled from 18 articles. The pooled FT rate was 35.3% (95% CI, 27.3%-44.4%) in high-income countries and 78.8% (95% CI, 60.4%-90.0%) in low- and middle-income countries. Conclusions and Relevance: Substantial FT is associated with breast cancer treatment worldwide. Although the FT rate was higher in low- and middle-income countries, more than 30% of patients in high-income countries also incurred FT. Policies designed to offset the burden of direct medical and nonmedical costs are required to improve the financial health of vulnerable patients with breast cancer.

Overcoming Barriers to Accessing Surgery and Rehabilitation in Low and Middle-Income Countries: An Innovative Model of Patient Navigation in Nepal.

BACKGROUND: Injury and disability are prominent public health concerns, globally and in the country of Nepal. Lack of locally available medical infrastructure, socioeconomic barriers, social marginalization, poor health literacy, and cultural barriers prevent patients from accessing surgical and rehabilitative care. Overcoming these barriers is an insurmountable challenge for the most vulnerable and marginalized, resulting in absence of treatment or even death. METHODS: Sundar Dhoka Saathi Sewa (SDSS), a non-government organization, provides a patient navigation service which facilitates referrals to tertiary centers from Nepal's most remote areas. Specific criteria ensure that patient referrals are appropriate in regard to clinical and socioeconomic need, while comprehensive counselling helps guide the patient and family. The SDSS staff meet patients upon arrival in Kathmandu and facilitate admission to the appropriate tertiary hospital. They advocate for the patient, provide medicine, supply food and cover all treatment costs. RESULTS: This project has enabled access to treatment for more than 1200 children for conditions leading to long-term disability and/or congenital heart disease. Interventions include a wide range of surgical and rehabilitative procedures such as complex orthopedics, cleft lip and palate, congenital talipes equinovarus, burn contractures, neurological cases, and cardiac surgery for valvular disease, septal defects and other congenital malformations. DISCUSSION: The SDSS model of patient navigation is effective in overcoming the barriers to access surgical care and rehabilitation in Nepal. The success is owed to committed international donors, capacity building, effective counselling, advocacy, compassion, and community. We believe that this model could be replicated in other LMICs.

The right treatment at the right time in the right place: a population-based, before-and-after study of outcomes associated with implementation of an all-inclusive trauma system in a large Canadian province.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the implementation of an all-inclusive philosophy of trauma care in a large Canadian province. BACKGROUND: Challenges to regionalized trauma care may occur where transport distances to level I trauma centers are substantial and few level I centers exist. In 2008, we modified our predominantly regionalized model to an all-inclusive one with the hopes of increasing the role of level III trauma centers. METHODS: We conducted a population-based, before-and-after study of patient admission and transfer practices and outcomes associated with implementation of an all-inclusive provincial trauma system using multivariable Poisson and linear regression and Cox proportional hazard models. RESULTS: In total, 21,772 major trauma patients were included. Implementation of the all-inclusive model of trauma care was associated with a decline in transfers directly to level I trauma centers [risk ratio (RR) = 0.91; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.88-0.94; P < 0.001] and an increase in transfers from level III to level I centers (RR = 1.10; 95% CI: 1.00-1.21; P = 0.04). These changes in trauma care occurred in conjunction with a 12% reduction in the hazard of mortality (hazard ratio = 0.88; 95% CI: 0.84-0.98; P = 0.003) and a decrease in mean trauma patient hospital length of stay by 1 day (95% CI: 1.02-1.11; P = 0.02) after adjustment for differences in case mix. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, introduction of an all-inclusive provincial trauma system was associated with an increased number of injured patients cared for in their local systems and improved trauma patient mortality and hospital length of stay.