Impacts of cancer among childhood and adolescent cancer survivors living in rural locations with public insurance.
AI interpretation is pending for this paper.
Open original publication →What the AI sees
Not AI summarized yet.
Research significance
Pending deeper interpretation.
Source abstract
BACKGROUND: Advances in cancer treatment have increased survival among childhood and adolescent patients, yet many survivors experience long-term psychosocial and health challenges. Structural factors such as health insurance and geographic location influence access to survivorship care, but little is known about their combined impact. METHODS: Secondary data were analyzed from 470 childhood and adolescent cancer survivors who completed the Impact of Cancer-Childhood Survivors (IOC-CS) questionnaire during visits to a survivorship clinic in the US Pacific Northwest. Hierarchical OLS regression examined predictors of positive and negative psychosocial impacts, including demographic, clinical, and environmental variables (geographic location and insurance type), and their interaction. RESULTS: The interaction between rural residence and public insurance significantly predicted higher negative impact scores (β = 0.13, p = .05) after controlling for covariates, indicating compounded risk for psychosocial distress. Public insurance independently predicted higher negative impact and lower positive impact scores. Rurality alone was not a significant predictor after accounting for interaction effects. CONCLUSIONS: Survivors with both rural residence and public insurance face intersecting structural barriers that amplify psychosocial challenges. Future research should explore tailored interventions and policy strategies to reduce disparities in survivorship care access and outcomes.