Grant: Project Grant

Healthcare interactions are at significant risk of uncovering and accentuating new and existing sex and gender inequities. This is because relationships between patients and healthcare providers can often be complicated by the heightened emotions and vulnerabilities of a serious illness diagnosis, by the potential for miscommunication during frequent exchanges of sensitive and personal health information, and by the real and perceived influence that clinicians inherently possess over their patients. Healthcare inequities can manifest in both overt and subtle ways, including unequal access to limited healthcare resources (i.e., ability vs. inability to receive newer, more expensive treatments), differences in the timeliness and quality of care received (i.e., short vs. long wait times for essential, lifesaving healthcare procedures or interventions), and disparities in opportunities for specialized care (i.e., presence vs. lack of clinical trials, advanced imaging, or acute pain and palliative care services). The consequences of experiencing such inequities may include worse survival, poorer quality of life, mental health disorders, financial hardships, or dysfunctional personal and professional relationships. Understanding the spectrum of patient, physician, and disease factors that drive sex and gender-based healthcare disparities is rarely studied, but it represents an important first step in finding and operationalizing solutions to achieve more equitable care. In this study, we have assembled an experienced and diverse team of investigators that will utilize a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods to gain insights into the impact of sex-concordant patient-physician pairs (female-female, male-male) versus sex-discordant dyads (female-male, male-female) on cancer outcomes. We also intend to highlight potential strategies that will ensure cancers affecting both sexes and all genders are managed appropriately and equitably by the healthcare system.