Health Services Research Commons^™

Overcoming Disparities In The Treatment Of Alzheimer’S Disease, Christian Gamboa, Tribhuvan Lanka, Elaine Flowers, Nayarith Lopez

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Background: Deaths due to Alzheimer’s have been increasing at an exponential rate for the last 24 years, with an astounding 145% increase between the years 2000-2024. Early detection is key to slowing down the rate of decline. Unfortunately, Latino and African American individuals delay seeking care, which predisposes them to worse outcomes. To date, socioeconomic limitations are the main factors leading to delayed care in Latino and African American communities. A service project was developed with the aim of addressing limitations that result in delays to seeking care within Latino and African American communities.

Methods: A systematic review of available …

Effects Of Income And Language On Health Literacy: A Study Between A Student-Run Free Clinic And A Family Medicine Office, Sahil Parikh, Emily Forester, Alisha Basak, Arpan Bhagat, Leah Cliatt, Usmaan Al-Shehab, Rebecca Moore

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Background: Over one-third of the US population exhibit limited health literacy, leading to negative health outcomes and lifestyle choices. By employing the NVS assessment, RCHC sought to compare the health literacy levels of uninsured patients at their facility with those of insured patients at the Rowan Family Medicine office in Hammonton, NJ. This study aimed to assess specific factors that may influence health literacy levels.

Methods: This is an IRB-approved study which surveyed patients enrolled at the RCHC and Rowan Family Medicine Office between February 2021 and March 2023. Patients were given a nutrition label and verbally answered the NVS …

A Systematic Review Of The Barriers Of Opioid Addiction Treatment For Young Adult Males (Ages 18-26) Living In Low Income Areas In The United States Of America, Atish Gandhi, Asim Shafique, Jillian Baker

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

NOTE: This is a broad literature review, not a systematic review.

This systematic review aims to analyze the reasons behind reduced access to opioid addiction treatment for individuals of low socioeconomic standing. Understanding these barriers may allow communities to build a more comprehensive plan to lower addiction rates. In addition, this review will be examining further developments of theopioid crisis due to the recent COVID-19 pandemic. The literature search used publications from the following databases: PubMed, Google Scholar, and NCBI. The keywords searched were “opioid addiction”, “substance abuse”, “low-income area”, “barriers to treatment”, “young male addiction”, “opioid treatment”, “Narcan”. There …

The Effect Of Covid-19 On Depression In Hispanic Vs. Non-Hispanic Populations In South Jersey, Rana Cheikhali, Daniel Casal

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

The COVID-19 pandemic has been challenging for Americans and the world as a whole. It has especially taken a toll on mental health. Studies show that the incidence of depression in the United States was three times greater during the pandemic compared to pre-pandemic times. One specific community in the United States that has been greatly affected by the pandemic is the Hispanic American community. Many Americans across the country have received federal surveys that aim to determine the social and economic impacts of COVID-19. Results revealed that the Hispanic population had the greatest rise in mental illness, with 40% …

Breast Cancer Survival In Canada And The Usa: Meta-Analytic Evidence Of A Canadian Advantage In Low-Income Areas, Kevin M. Gorey

Social Work Publications

BACKGROUND: This study tested the hypothesis that relatively poor Canadian women with breast cancer have a survival advantage over their counterparts in the USA.

METHODS: Seventy-eight independent retrospective cohort (incidence between 1984 and 2000, followed until 2006) outcomes were synthesized. Fixed effects meta-regression models compared women with breast cancer in low-income areas of Canada and the USA.

RESULTS: Low-income Canadian women were advantaged on survival [rate ratio (RR) = 1.14; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.13-1.15] and their advantage was even larger among women <65 years of age who are not yet eligible for Medicare coverage in the USA (RR = 1.21, 95% CI 1.18-1.24). Canadian advantages were also larger for node positive breast cancer, which may present with greater clinical and managerial discretion (RR = 1.40, 95% CI 1.30-1.50), and smaller when Hawaii, the state providing the most Canadian-like access, was the US comparator (RR = 1.12, 95% CI 1.01-1.20).

CONCLUSIONS: More inclusive health care insurance coverage in Canada vs the USA, particularly among each country's relatively …

Lower Adherence To Screening Mammography Guidelines Among Ethnic Minority Women In America: A Meta-Analytic Review, Rebecca J. Purc-Stephenson, Kevin M. Gorey

Social Work Publications

OBJECTIVE: This study investigates the association between ethnic minority status and receiving a screening mammogram within the past 2 years among American women over 50.

METHOD: The findings from 33 studies identified from interdisciplinary research databases (1980 to 2006) were synthesized. Separate pooled analyses compared white non-Hispanics to African Americans (28 outcomes), Hispanics (18 outcomes), and Asian/Pacific Islanders (10 outcomes).

RESULTS: Using the random effects model, results showed that African Americans were screened less than white non-Hispanics at a marginal level (OR 0.87, 95% CI 0.75, 1.00). Larger and significant discrepancies were observed for Hispanics (OR 0.65, 95% CI 0.50, …

Cancer Survival In Ontario, 1986-2003: Evidence Of Equitable Advances Across Most Diverse Urban And Rural Places, Kevin M. Gorey

Social Work Publications

OBJECTIVES: This study examined whether place and socio-economic status had differential effects on the survival of women diagnosed with breast cancer in Ontario during the 1980s and the 1990s.

METHODS: The Ontario Cancer Registry provided 29,934 primary malignant breast cancer cases. Successive historical cohorts (1986-1988 and 1995-1997) were, respectively, followed until 1994 and 2003. Diverse places were compared: the greater metropolitan Toronto area, other cities, ranging in size from 50,000 to a million people, smaller towns and villages, and rural and remote areas. Socio-economic data for each woman's residence at the time of diagnosis were taken from population censuses.

RESULTS: …

An International Comparison Of Cancer Survival: Metropolitan Toronto, Ontario, And Honolulu, Hawaii, Kevin M. Gorey

Social Work Publications

OBJECTIVES: Comparisons of cancer survival in Canadian and US metropolitan areas have shown consistent Canadian advantages. This study tests a health insurance hypothesis by comparing cancer survival in Toronto, Ontario, and Honolulu, Hawaii.

METHODS: Ontario and Hawaii registries provided a total of 9190 and 2895 cancer cases (breast and prostate, 1986-1990, followed until 1996). Socioeconomic data for each person's residence at the time of diagnosis were taken from population censuses.

RESULTS: Socioeconomic status and cancer survival were directly associated in the US cohort, but not in the Canadian cohort. Compared with similar patients in Honolulu, residents of low-income areas in …

Gorey, K. Association Between Socioeconomic Status And Cancer Incidence In Toronto, Ontario: Possible Confounding Of Cancer Mortality By Incidence And Survival, Kevin M. Gorey

Social Work Publications

OBJECTIVE: To observe the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and cancer incidence in a cohort of Canadians.

DESIGN: Cases of primary malignant cancer (83,666) that arose in metropolitan Toronto, Ont., from 1986 to 1993 were ascertained by the Ontario Cancer Registry and linked by residence at the time of diagnosis to a census-based measure of SES. Socioeconomic quintile areas were then compared by cancer incidence.

RESULTS: Significant associations between SES and cancer incidence in the hypothesized direction--greater incidence in low-income areas--were observed for 15 of 23 cancer sites.

CONCLUSIONS: These findings, together with the recently observed consistent pattern of significant …