Determining community priorities for a cancer health equity dashboard for quality monitoring

Abstract Background: Quality measures for accreditation, reimbursement and care monitoring have long focused on the delivery of effective care within health care institutions. As calls for greater health equity have emerged alongside understandings of the limited role that health care plays in health outcomes, researchers and practitioners seek quality measures that reflect critical components of health quality while also helping to address inequities in resources, access and risks that present with diverse patient populations. Our research sought to identify quality measures of importance to people living in the catchment area of our comprehensive cancer center and to determine community priorities for the development of a cancer health equity dashboard. Methodology: In-depth interviews were conducted with 15 community members and/or patients as part of a mixed methods project. A modified rapid analysis framework was used to review, analyze, categorize, and reduce data from interview transcripts. The research team also met with health care leadership whose responsibilities entailed quality measurement or reporting. Proxy member verification, through use of the hospital’s Patient and Family Advisory Council, helped refine reporting priorities. Results: Although most participants appreciated the health care quality and health equity definitions used by the hospital, thematic analysis revealed nine concepts that community members believed were missing from the definitions as well as perceived misalignments in the operationalization of definitions when aiming to provide quality cancer care. Community members believed more attention should be paid to communications (i.e. provider-patient/family and health system-community), costs (i.e. affordability, transparency, insurance navigation) and patient context (i.e. home life, work conditions, history with health care systems). Workforce diversity was also frequently identified as an important quality-related metric that could be reported and monitored over time. Finally, participants suggested using the cancer care continuum as a comprehensible way to organize quality monitoring efforts. Most respondents had difficulty recalling cancer center efforts focused on cancer prevention and early detection yet believed there were educational and prevention interventions that could help create more equitable conditions for future cancer patients. Conclusion: Demonstrating and addressing differences in quality perspectives among community members and health systems may improve perceptions of shared interest among catchment area stakeholders while also highlighting paths to address cancer disparities. Qualitative findings will be combined with quantitative data to create a roadmap for design of a cancer health equity dashboard to facilitate quality monitoring for different audiences. Grouped by implementation difficulty, researchers hope this roadmap will highlight opportunities for cancer leadership to better incorporate equity into existing measurement and operations demands. Citation Format: Sakinah C. Suttiratana, Katherine A. Nash, Robert Rock, Carol R. Oladele, Sujana Nelakanti, Erin Singleton, Maurice Williams, Karen H. Wang. Determining community priorities for a cancer health equity dashboard for quality monitoring [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 15th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2022 Sep 16-19; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2022;31(1 Suppl):Abstract nr A057.