Addressing Inequity in Spatial Access to Lung Cancer Screening

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Geospatial Analysis
• Health Equity

Background:

• Implementing equitable lung cancer screening necessitates understanding accessibility barriers.
• Geospatial factors significantly influence patient access to screening services.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess spatial accessibility of lung cancer screening sites in British Columbia, Canada.
• To examine the impact of urbanization and socioeconomic deprivation on travel times to screening sites.

Main Methods:

• Utilized geospatial mapping and vehicle travel time analysis from residential postal codes to screening sites.
• Analyzed lung cancer cases as a proxy for a screen-eligible population.
• Incorporated Statistics Canada's Canadian Index of Multiple Deprivation.

Main Results:

• Median travel time to the nearest screening site was 11.7 minutes.
• Urbanization correlated with significantly shorter drive times (p < 0.001).
• Increased travel times (≥60 minutes) were predominantly observed in rural areas and strongly associated with sociodemographic and economic deprivations.

Conclusions:

• Rural and remote populations face greater challenges accessing lung cancer screening due to longer travel times.
• Drive times are significantly influenced by socioeconomic factors, indicating specific populations require support for equitable access.
• Addressing travel time disparities is crucial for the successful implementation of equitable lung cancer screening programs.