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Importance: Although early detection and treatment of colorectal cancer has been shown to improve outcomes, geographic proximity may influence access to these services., Objective: To examine the disparities that may exist in colorectal cancer screening and treatment by comparing the distribution of providers of these services in rural and urban counties in the United States., Design, Setting, and Participants: A retrospective population-based study using data obtained from the 2009 Area Resource File for the entire US population within each county., Main Outcomes and Measures: Counties in the United States were categorized as rural or urban using rural-urban continuum codes as our primary exposure. The proportion of gastroenterologists, general surgeons, and radiation oncologists per 100,000 people in each county was estimated as primary outcomes. Multivariate linear regression analysis adjusted for county-level socioeconomic variables, such as percentages of females, blacks, population without insurance, those with a high school diploma, and median household income, to estimate the relative density of each category of these providers between urban and rural counties., Results: In total, 3220 counties were identified, comprising 1807 rural and 1413 urban counties. An unadjusted analysis showed an increased density of gastroenterologists, general surgeons, and radiation oncologists per 100,000 people in urban vs rural counties. A multivariable analysis revealed a significantly higher density of gastroenterologists (1.63; 95% CI, 1.40-1.85; P < .001), general surgeons (2.01; 95% CI, 1.28-2.73; P < .001), and radiation oncologists (0.68; 95% CI, 0.59-0.77; P < .001) per 100,000 people living in urban vs rural counties., Conclusions and Relevance: A rural-urban disparity exists in the density of gastroenterologists, general surgeons, and radiation oncologists who traditionally provide colorectal cancer screening services and treatment. This might affect access to these services and may negatively influence outcomes for colorectal cancer in rural areas.

Introduction: Lung cancer mortality rates may vary with access to specialty providers and local resources. We sought to examine the effect of access to care, using density of lung cancer care providers, on lung cancer mortality among blacks and whites in the United States., Methods: We examined U.S. county-level data for age-adjusted lung cancer mortality rates from 2003 to 2007. Our primary independent variable was per capita number of thoracic oncologic providers, adjusting for county-level smoking rates, socioeconomic status, and other geographic factors. Data were obtained from 2009 Area Resource File, National Center for Health Statistics, and the County Health Rankings Project., Results: Providers of lung cancer care were unevenly distributed among the U.S. counties. For example, 41.4% of the U.S. population reside in counties with less than four thoracic surgeons per 100,000 people, 23.4% in counties with 4 to 15 surgeons per 100,000 people, and 35.3% in counties with more than 15 surgeons per 100,000 people. Geographically, 4.3% of whites compared with 11.2% of blacks lived in high lung cancer mortality zones. Lung cancer mortality did not vary by density of thoracic surgeons or oncology services; however, higher primary care provider density was associated with lung cancer mortality reduction of 4.1 per 100,000 for whites., Conclusion: Variation in provider density for thoracic oncology in the United States was not associated with a difference in lung cancer mortality. Lower mortality associated with higher primary care provider density suggests that equitable access to primary care may lead to reduced cancer disparities.

The existence of disparities within our healthcare system is receiving considerable national attention, as we seek to understand the magnitude of these disparities with the goal of eliminating them altogether. Herein, we review recent important work that captures the current progress in this important area that has direct implications for the thoracic surgeon's daily practice management., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Minority groups have poor access to quality health care services. This is true of colorectal cancer care and may be related to both geographical proximity and use of surgical, gastroenterology, and radiation oncology services. Without suitable access, many minority patients may present with advanced colorectal cancer and be less likely to receive appropriate adjuvant therapies. We sought to examine the variations in geographical access among minorities at a county level., Design: A retrospective analysis was performed using data from the Area Resource File. Multivariate linear regression analysis was performed to identify the variations in access to colorectal surgeons, gastroenterologists, and radiation oncologists., Setting: All counties in the United States., Participants: Prevalence rate of African Americans and Asian Americans within a county., Main Outcome Measure: Rate of colorectal surgeons, gastroenterologists, and radiation oncologists., Results: Unadjusted analysis revealed that each percentage point increase in the African American population within a county was associated with a decrease in the number of specialists within that county. Multivariate analysis also revealed a statistically significant decrease in the number of gastroenterologists (P < .001) and radiation oncologists (P < .001) with each percentage point increase in the African American population and a trend toward a decrease in colorectal surgeons within that county (P = .28). Each percentage point increase in the Asian American population was associated with a significant increase in the number of gastroenterologists (P < .001) and radiation oncologists (P < .001) with a similar trend toward an increase in the number of colorectal surgeons within that county (P = .13)., Conclusion: Increasing numbers of minority patients in counties is accompanied by a differential access to specialists. This may affect the likelihood of a patient to receive appropriate care.