A New Look at Cancer Care Disparities

The death rate from cancer is notably higher for African Americans than Caucasians, which derives from disparities in screening, diagnosis, engagement in clinical trials and therapeutic efficacy and less use of hospice and palliative care among African Americans. “The causes of these complex disparities reflect social, cultural and economic inequalities more than biological differences,” says Lisa Whitfield- Harris, PhD, MSN, MBA, assistant professor of nursing. “Addressing them effectively will require interventions that are developed in full partnership with the African American community.” She and two Jefferson colleagues—Clara Granda- Cameron, DrNP, MSN, assistant professor of nursing, and Jeannette Kates, PhD, CRNP, assistant professor of nursing and director of the adult-gerontology primary care nurse practitioner program—are collaborating on two studies that seek to clarify and begin addressing culturally based reasons for cancer care disparities within the African American population