Advancing Health Equity Through Quality Cancer Care and Solution-Driven Innovative Interventions: An Introduction to the JCOOP Quality Symposium 2022 Special Series

Abstract

ASCO's annual Quality Care Symposium is a significant scientific opportunity for oncology colleagues to gain awareness and knowledge of ground-breaking health services research that has potential to enhance the delivery of optimal cancer care. For the year 2022, to continue the oncology community's dedicated efforts to address barriers to delivery of equitable care, innovative equity-centered, solution-driven, research was presented. 1 In fact, this year's symposium was a direct response to the recently updated ASCO policy statement, reminding the cancer care community that advancement of health equity requires devoted efforts to promote equitable access, including research and quality improvement initiatives to address structural barriers and enhanced workforce awareness that results in direct action. 2 In this issue of JCO OP, we are pleased to introduce select, rigorously conducted, interdisciplinary research endeavors intended to promote high-quality and equitable care across the cancer trajectory, from diagnosis through treatment to survivorship and end of life. Our hope is that researchers and clinicians will find these manuscripts helpful in addressing questions of quality and equity that transcend international borders. This special issue begins with an eloquent editorial by Offodile 3 on the potential for decentralized oncology clinical trials to improve access, accrual, and diversity in multidisciplinary surgical trials. Original research in this issue summarized expertly in the commentary from the recent chairs of the ASCO Quality Care Symposium, Wheeler and Rocque, 4 evaluates innovative, empirically driven approaches for patient reporting of symptom burdens including a pilot study involving remote symptom and biometric monitoring program for patients undergoing chemotherapy. Bergerot et al 5 report the impact of a biopsychosocial screening program on the clinical and hospitalcentered outcomes, including major patient-and system-level concerns of admission rates and length of stay, for a cohort of patients in Brazil. Lundquist et al 6 demonstrate the potential to identify baseline characteristics of early-phase clinical trial participants that predict for poor clinical outcomes and highlight an opportunity for targeted supportive care interventions. Franzoi et al 7 describe their quality improvement efforts to address the universal challenge posed by the transition from initial treatment to the survivorship phase of care for patients with breast cancer seen at a major French medical center. Finally, Sheni et al 8 identify factors that can predict delay in therapy initiation in a racially diverse, socioeconomically disadvantaged urban population. It is our hope that our reader will find lessons they can apply in their own practice, research, and quality improvement initiatives and be inspired to address health equity challenges in their own communities. Advancing health equity through quality cancer care will require dedicated advocacy, policy, research, and clinical efforts to build on our documentati...