Health Policy and Health Services
The health care system in the United States is a bewildering mosaic of organizations, methods of delivery, payment and eligibility for health care coverage, unlike that of any other industrialized nation. The most expensive of “systems,” it is able to provide the highest quality care at the frontiers of medical knowledge, while, by some estimates, nearly half its population is non- or underinsured for medical care, and health care outcomes are still influenced by race and socioeconomic status, aside from underlying medical conditions.
The need to better understand medical care organization, service delivery and policies that effect breast cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment, outcome, and related quality of life has been a major priority of the CBCRP for several years, although we have only been able to attract and fund relatively few applications during this time.
This year for the first time, we are funding a significant amount of health policy and services related research. The CBCRP awarded five major grants in this area totaling $3.18 million dollars, 17% of its total awarded this year, including two Community Collaborations Research (CRC) Awards.
This research will look at:
- Quality of care: understanding how inter-personal,personal and health care system factors interact to impact the quality of breast cancer care.
- Regional variations: What is the relationship between community-level health care variables and the stage at which breast cancer is diagnosed?
- Employment Issues: What impact does breast cancer surgery have on returning to work?
- New Models of Care: What is the impact of breast cancer care peer-navigators on breast cancer care, and what impact does the process of "navigating"have on both the patients and the navigators themselves?
Geographic Variation in Breast Cancer Stage at Diagnosis
Davidson, Pamela
University of California, Los Angeles
3 years, $425,497
Tax Check-off Grant
Return to Work after Breast Cancer Surgery
Estrin, Diane
Women's Cancer Resource Center
Eversley, Rani
University of California, San Francisco
3 years, $625,000
The Impact of Structure on Quality of Breast Cancer Care
Kahn, Katherine
University of California, Los Angeles
3 years, $851,916
Determinants of Breast Cancer Treatment in the Underserved
Maly, Rose
University of California, Los Angeles
3 years, $782,049
Does a Peer Navigator Improve Quality of Life at Diagnosis?
Bliss-Isberg, Caroline
Central Coast Women's Cancer Consortium
Spiegel, David
Stanford University
3 years, $500,000
