Health Economics

There have been tremendous advances in the early detection and treatment of cancer over the past few decades, leading to increased survival among individuals diagnosed with cancer. However, these advances have been associated with substantial increases in costs to patients, health care systems, and society overall. The costs associated with cancer care can lead to adverse consequences for patients, which is known as financial toxicity or financial hardship. Financial toxicity/hardship is a concern even in countries with universal health insurance. Individuals from underserved and vulnerable populations are more likely to experience these adverse consequences, emphasizing that cancer health economics research is a critical area for mitigating financial hardship and achieving health equity. Further, the ways in which structural, workforce, and policy factors may influence the economics of cancer care are not well understood.

The aim of this Section is to publish findings broadly relevant to the economics of cancer prevention, screening, treatment, survivorship, and end-of-life care. As there is now a substantial body of literature that has well-documented disparities in receipt of care among underserved populations, this Section will focus on assessing interventions and policies to reduce costs, enhance value, and improve efficiency in cancer care delivery as well as better understanding the financial impacts of cancer care and cancer disparities. Topics of particular interest include, but are not limited to:

• Economic factors that influence cancer prevention, screening, treatment, survivorship, and end-of-life care, including factors affecting health care decisions, health equity, and quality of care;
• Strategies and interventions to address economic barriers to cancer care;
• Costs and cost-effectiveness of services across the entire cancer control continuum, including patient-level, health care system, employer, and societal costs;
• Impacts of cancer-related costs on patients, their families, and caregivers, including financial toxicity/financial hardship;
• Approaches for communicating cancer-related cost information to non-researcher audiences, including patients, advocates, and policymakers;
• Data resources and data linkage that provide information on cancer health economics research; and
• New study designs and methods to help collect or analyze cancer economic information.