Overall survival based on oncologist density in the United States: Do we need to redefine underserved areas for oncologic care?

Examining the Effect of Travel Distance to Pediatric Cancer Centers and Rurality on Survival and Treatment Experiences: A Systematic Review

“…In this regard, the notion of health professional shortage areas has been defined to account for many facets of health care access based on location, but it has been shown to be an imperfect measure for oncologic access. 58,59 Moreover, no studies examined health professional shortage areas and the methods used to determine or classify rurality were largely inconsistent across studies, including rural-urban continuum codes, 34,41,46 ruralurban commuting area codes, 36 various rurality indices unique to the area being studied, 38,51 self-stratification based purely on population of individual areas, 45 and some studies with unclear classification. 35,43 There is substantial overlap between ruralurban continuum codes and rural-urban commuting area, and both have been used in studying disparities in cancer treatment access and differential mortality.…”

“…However, rurality status is an imperfect proxy because that status often reflects additional socioeconomic factors relevant to appropriate oncologic access beyond purely distance traveled. In this regard, the notion of health professional shortage areas has been defined to account for many facets of health care access based on location, but it has been shown to be an imperfect measure for oncologic access 58,59. Moreover, no studies examined health professional shortage areas and the methods used to determine or classify rurality were largely inconsistent across studies, including rural-urban continuum codes,34,41,46 rural-urban commuting area codes,36 various rurality indices unique to the area being studied,38,51 self-stratification based purely on population of individual areas,45 and some studies with unclear classification 35,43.…”