Are we ready for intercultural cancer care?
Abstract
Migration is increasing worldwide, with accumulating evidence of health disparities. At the same time, oncology faces new challenges within a fast-changing care landscape. These two developments raise the question of integration of migrants and ethnic minorities (MEMs) and cultural influences in oncology. Perceptions of health and disease differ substantially across and within societies and cultures. However, health needs of MEMs and cultural influences seem often out of the scope of cancer care. The purpose of this thematic review is to consider three major challenges of current and future oncology through the prism of culture and ethnicity: enrollment in cancer clinical trials, therapeutic adherence, and new models and paradigms of care. We found inconsistent literature highlighting gaps in knowledge, research, and clinical practice. This confirms unequal situations for MEMs in cancer and asserts interactions between culture influences and therapeutic transactions. To eliminate the burden of health disparities and ensure the best outcomes in MEM's cancer patients, a collaborative approach from research and clinical practice is necessary. Only robust research from all countries exploring unmet needs of MEMs and striving for fu...Continue Reading
References
Unequal cancer survivorship care: addressing cultural and sociodemographic disparities in the clinic
Citations
Related Concepts
Related Feeds
Cell Migration in Cancer and Metastasis
Migration of cancer cells into surrounding tissue and the vasculature is an initial step in tumor metastasis. Discover the latest research on cell migration in cancer and metastasis here.
Cell Migration
Cell migration is involved in a variety of physiological and pathological processes such as embryonic development, cancer metastasis, blood vessel formation and remoulding, tissue regeneration, immune surveillance and inflammation. Here is the latest research.
Cancer Disparities
Cancer disparities refers to differences in cancer outcomes (e.g., number of cancer cases, related health complications) across population groups.