Quality breast cancer care for all: Health system limitations and their influence on health disparities in the national capital area

Susan G. Komen for the Cure's® promise is to save lives and end breast cancer forever by empowering people, ensuring quality care for all and energizing science to discover the cures. In the National Capital Area (NCA), Susan G. Komen conducted a comprehensive needs assessment to understand the barriers that influence a woman's access to quality care. This presentation discusses the findings of one segment of the assessment – the health system analysis.

Nineteen key informant interviews were completed with breast cancer service providers and free clinics in four target areas of the NCA where statistics demonstrated a serious breast cancer burden. Interviews were structured to assess health system barriers to care and the type of care available throughout various phases of the continuum of care – including access to screening, screening to diagnosis, diagnosis to treatment, treatment to follow up and rescreening.

Findings indicate capacity and structural barriers are significant issues to access throughout the continuum for those at high risk. Lack of resources in poor communities overburdens existing providers, interrupts and delays access and builds up distrust in the community. Unequal access and differences in access to quality care and cancer treatment may contribute to observed differences in survival for African American and other minority women in the National Capital area.

Themes from each category will be discussed as well as next steps in integrating these findings with other data collected as part of the needs assessment process that will be used by Komen to develop community priorities.