Radiation Therapy Utilization in Middle-Income Countries

Abstract

5.74 days longer (95% CI Z 4.31-7.18, P < 0.001) than those with commercial insurance, 3.71 days longer (95% CI Z 2.10-5.31, P < 0.001) in patients from rural versus urban areas, 2.89 days longer (95% CI Z 1.08-4.70, P Z 0.002) in low versus high income areas, and 2.56 days longer (95% CI Z 0.79-4.33, P < 0.001) in regions with low versus high educational attainment. Conclusion: Prolonged package time in head and neck cancer has been previously shown to adversely affect survival outcomes. We identified significant national disparities in package time, particularly among patients with Medicaid insurance, low income and educational levels, and those living in more rural regions of the country. These findings provide a strong rationale for policy interventions intended to mitigate such delays in the timely completion of cancer therapy.

Radiation Therapy in Arab World

“…Worldwide, gaps to RT access have been identified, not only in LMIC as expected, but also in Europe, as access to RT remains limited in many countries [1,5,11,40]. Furthermore, a commonly used benchmark for RT machine availability of 450-500 patients per RT unit per year has been suggested for suitable machine throughput, whereas annual numbers of 200-300 patients per RO, 300-500 per MP, and 100-150 per RTT have also been suggested in several reports [35,42,44,45].…”