Travel Distance to Cancer Treatment Facilities in the Deep South

Despite ongoing efforts to improve rural healthcare, the health problems facing rural communities persist. The lack of healthcare providers and infrastructure in rural areas has been linked to a number of negative consequences. Among the elderly rural population, the lack of proximal access presents...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of healthcare management 2017-01, Vol.62 (1), p.30-43
Main Authors: Wills, Mary J, Whitman, Marilyn V, English, Thomas M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
Analysis
Baby boomers
Beneficiaries
Breast cancer
Cancer therapies
Cancer treatment
Colorectal cancer
Cost control
Female
Health administration
Health care access
Health care expenditures
Health care industry
Health Services Accessibility
Humans
Infrastructure
Male
Management
Medical screening
Medicare
Mortality
Neoplasms - therapy
Older people
Physicians
Population
Prostate cancer
Rural areas
Rural health care
Rural Population
Studies
Travel
United States
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Summary:Despite ongoing efforts to improve rural healthcare, the health problems facing rural communities persist. The lack of healthcare providers and infrastructure in rural areas has been linked to a number of negative consequences. Among the elderly rural population, the lack of proximal access presents greater barriers because many elderly people are further limited in their ability to travel and pay for services. In the Deep South specifically, rural residents experience limited access to care and overall poor health outcomes. With cancer in particular, the Deep South has been dubbed the "cancer belt," faring far worse in prevalence and mortality rates than other areas of the country. The present study examines the average travel distance for rural elderly patients residing in the Deep South who are receiving treatment for prostate, breast, or colorectal cancer. We analyzed Medicare claims data of beneficiaries residing in the five Deep South states who had received a primary diagnosis of prostate, breast, or colorectal cancer, with a service date ranging from January 1, 2011, through December 31, 2014. The findings reveal that rural Medicare beneficiaries in the Deep South travel significantly greater distances than do their urban counterparts. In addition, travel distances to prostate cancer treatment facilities are significantly greater than those to breast or colorectal cancer treatment facilities. With cancer incidence predicted to increase, the need to reduce travel distances to treatment is vital in efforts to curb the mortality rate in the Deep South.
ISSN:1096-9012
1944-7396
DOI:10.1097/00115514-201701000-00007