Assessing Disparities in Who Accepts an Early Palliative Care Consultation

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Palliative Care
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Early palliative care improves quality of life for patients with life-limiting illnesses.
• Access to specialist palliative care (SPC) is often inequitable.
• Stage IV lung cancer patients can benefit significantly from early SPC.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess disparities in early specialist palliative care (SPC) consultation for newly diagnosed stage IV lung cancer patients.
• To identify demographic and socioeconomic factors influencing SPC consultation acceptance.
• To guide interventions for improving equitable access to early palliative care.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective chart review of 113 newly diagnosed stage IV lung cancer patients in southern Alberta (June 2021-March 2022).
• Analysis of demographic factors and consultation outcomes (accepted, ineligible, declined/unreachable).
• Utilized Pampalon Deprivation Index and NamSor surname analysis as proxies for equity-related variables.

Main Results:

• 76.2% of patients were eligible for SPC consultation, and 67.4% of eligible patients accepted.
• Older age (>65 years), male sex, and high socioeconomic deprivation were associated with declining SPC (p < 0.05-0.01).
• Living alone or with a non-partner increased SPC acceptance (p < 0.05).

Conclusions:

• Age, sex, socioeconomic deprivation, and living situation significantly influenced SPC acceptance.
• Identifying these disparities is crucial for developing targeted interventions.
• Interventions are needed to ensure equitable access to early specialist palliative care for all stage IV lung cancer patients.