Grant: Summer Program in Aging

Precision medicine (PM) refers to a relatively new approach to informing individuals about care options based on a person's whole self, including genetics, environmental and social factors. PM aims to customize care to individuals because every individual is different. In Canada, PM access and care options differ provincially due to different provincial health systems. Due to its closeness to genetics, PM-guided treatment is strongly linked with cancer treatment. While individualized PM cancer treatment options sound promising, there is limited access and participation in PM. This is more pronounced for marginalized groups, including Indigenous, racialized and 2SLGBTQIA+. My doctoral work will develop a machine learning model that can identify factors affecting PM accessibility through an integration of an intersectional framework, which recognizes the individualized experience based on the connections of an individual's social categories and power structure, using electronic health records from the British Columbia Cancer Agency. My doctoral project has two specific objectives. The first objective is to develop a model describing the relationships between various intersectional variables (e.g., age, sex, Indigenous status, impact on climate change, 2SLGBTQIA+) to PM accessibility outcomes (e.g., offered genetic testing, receipt of targeted gene therapy). The second objective is to test the developed tool to ensure its performance and accuracy. My study aims to address the health inequity that exists with older adults with cancer in marginalized groups to PM accessibility. The developed tool can identify specific variables affecting PM accessibility, which can lead to the development of guidelines and policies to make PM access easier for individuals in marginalized groups to promote equity in Canada.