Patient and provider communication about employment following a cancer diagnosis.

PURPOSE: Cancer treatment can precipitate functional limitations that restrict survivors' ability to work. Yet, it is unclear whether healthcare providers discuss the potential for employment limitations with their patients. We assessed the frequency of patient-provider communication about employment, from the perspectives of survivors, and examined whether receiving a treatment summary was associated with employment communication. METHODS: Cancer survivors who were working at diagnosis were identified from the Health Information National Trends Survey-4, conducted in 2014 (n = 290). Separate multivariable regression analyses examined the associations between survivor characteristics and employment communication and receipt of a treatment summary and employment communication. RESULTS: Among cancer survivors who were working at diagnosis, 62.69% (95% CI 54.42-70.95) reported discussing employment with any healthcare provider at any time since diagnosis. Younger cancer survivors and those more recently treated were more likely to ever have employment discussions. Survivors who received a treatment summary were also more likely to ever discuss employment with any healthcare provider than survivors who did not receive a treatment summary (OR = 3.47, 95% CI 1.02-11.84). CONCLUSIONS: Approximately two thirds of cancer survivors who were working at diagnosis ever discussed employment with a healthcare provider. Thus, for a sizable portion of cancer survivors, the potential impact of cancer on employment is never discussed with any healthcare provider. IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER SURVIVORS: Efforts are needed to proactively screen patients for cancer-related work limitations, empower patients to discuss employment concerns with their healthcare providers, and develop interventions that support survivors' goals for working throughout treatment and recovery.

The state of research on racial/ethnic discrimination in the receipt of health care.

OBJECTIVES: We conducted a review to examine current literature on the effects of interpersonal and institutional racism and discrimination occurring within health care settings on the health care received by racial/ethnic minority patients. METHODS: We searched the PsychNet, PubMed, and Scopus databases for articles on US populations published between January 1, 2008 and November 1, 2011. We used various combinations of the following search terms: discrimination, perceived discrimination, race, ethnicity, racism, institutional racism, stereotype, prejudice or bias, and health or health care. Fifty-eight articles were reviewed. RESULTS: Patient perception of discriminatory treatment and implicit provider biases were the most frequently examined topics in health care settings. Few studies examined the overall prevalence of racial/ethnic discrimination and none examined temporal trends. In general, measures used were insufficient for examining the impact of interpersonal discrimination or institutional racism within health care settings on racial/ethnic disparities in health care. CONCLUSIONS: Better instrumentation, innovative methodology, and strategies are needed for identifying and tracking racial/ethnic discrimination in health care settings.

Race, gender, and health care service utilization and costs among Medicare elderly with psychiatric diagnoses.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate race and gender differences in health care service utilization and costs among the Medicare elderly with psychiatric diagnoses. METHODS: The authors employ a 5% sample of Medicare beneficiaries from Tennessee (N = 33,680), and among those with a psychiatric diagnosis (n = 5,339), they examine health care service utilization and costs by race and gender. RESULTS: African Americans had significantly higher rates of diagnosis for dementia, organic psychosis, and schizophrenia, whereas Whites had significantly higher rates for mood and anxiety disorders. White and African American men have higher rates of utilization of emergency and inpatient services and lower rates of outpatient utilization compared to White women and African American women. African American men have significantly higher health care costs. DISCUSSION: The findings suggest that race and gender interact to influence service utilization and preventive care, thereby driving up costs of care, for elderly persons with psychiatric diagnoses.