COVID-19 pandemic and health care disparities in head and neck cancer: Scanning the horizon.
Head Neck
; 42(7): 1555-1559, 2020 Jul.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-32562325
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly disrupted head and neck cancer (HNC) care delivery in ways that will likely persist long term. As we scan the horizon, this crisis has the potential to amplify preexisting racial/ethnic disparities for patients with HNC. Potential drivers of disparate HNC survival resulting from the pandemic include (a) differential access to telemedicine, timely diagnosis, and treatment; (b) implicit bias in initiatives to triage, prioritize, and schedule HNC-directed therapy; and (c) the marked changes in employment, health insurance, and dependent care. We present four strategies to mitigate these disparities (a) collect detailed data on access to care by race/ethnicity, income, education, and community; (b) raise awareness of HNC disparities; (c) engage stakeholders in developing culturally appropriate solutions; and (d) ensure that surgical prioritization protocols minimize risk of racial/ethnic bias. Collectively, these measures address social determinants of health and the moral imperative to provide equitable, high-quality HNC care.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Asunto principal:
Neumonía Viral
/
Infecciones por Coronavirus
/
Disparidades en Atención de Salud
/
Betacoronavirus
/
Neoplasias de Cabeza y Cuello
/
Accesibilidad a los Servicios de Salud
Tipo de estudio:
Etiology_studies
/
Guideline
/
Risk_factors_studies
Límite:
Humans
País/Región como asunto:
America do norte
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Head Neck
Asunto de la revista:
NEOPLASIAS
Año:
2020
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Estados Unidos