Oral Cancer, Socioeconomic Status, and Access to Health Care in BC
Where are oral cancer patients concentrated?
Where should resources be allocated?
How accessible are facilities to oral cancer patients?
How can we ensure patients are well-supported?
What is the relationship between oral cancer and SES?
What can we do to lower the number of oral cancer cases?
Integrated management of public health requires knowledge of the location of patients and areas most in need of health services. The purpose of this project will be to identify clusters of oral cancer cases in British Columbia in order to give a spatial representation of the location of cases throughout the province. These clusters of oral cancer will then be analyzed for their relationship to socioeconomic status (SES) and assessed for access to health care services. With an aging population, the province of British Columbia is being stressed for health care services. Limited resources for health care results in the need to allocate resources efficiently. By identifying areas within the province where citizens are most at risk from oral cancer, this project can help best allocate these resources.
