Dr. Shani Paluch-Shimon, head of the Breast Cancer Unit at the Hadassah Medical Organization, has been awarded a grant from The Breast Cancer Research Foundation to study health care disparities in culturally diverse, special needs and disadvantaged populations in Israel.
The innovative research project will be led by Dr. Paluch-Shimon in collaboration with Dr. Michal Braun, a psycho-oncologist at Hadassah's Sharett Institute of Oncology. This collaboration uniquely combines advanced clinical research with critical psychological aspects of breast cancer treatment.
Health care disparities across ethnic-religious groups limit equitable access to breast cancer prevention, screening and treatment, negatively impacting outcomes. Key findings of the first phase of the study were that Jewish ultra-Orthodox and Muslim women were “more likely to have metastatic disease at diagnosis, have a significantly shorter overall survival and far higher likelihood of death than the general population,” according to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
“Ultra-Orthodox patients reported superior health-related quality of life, spiritual well-being and lower levels of depression compared to other groups. Arab patients reported poorer health-related quality of life, higher levels of depression and lower levels of spiritual well-being,” the initial study found.
But, the authors noted, “health care professionals reported barriers to communication and understanding of both minority groups and associated frustration and helplessness.”
While the first phase focused on women with advanced breast cancer, further research will focus on early breast cancer.
The goal is to “generate data on the disparities, identify further areas of necessary research in these groups and use the findings to tailor interventions and care to bridge the gaps and improve outcomes,” The Breast Cancer Research Foundation said.
Learn more about the grant from The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
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