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Social Drivers of Health in Metastatic Breast Cancer

There is an increasing awareness of the need to screen for a broad array of social drivers of health (SDOH) in the healthcare setting. Social drivers of health refer to the conditions in which people live, work, and play. SDOH are defined as external factors including social, economic, and educational factors as well as infrastructure and healthcare. SDOH can affect an individual’s health outcomes, functioning, and quality-of-life. Research shows health outcomes are influenced by various elements such as genes, health behaviors (e.g., smoking, diet, and exercise), social and environmental factors, and access to healthcare.

SDOH exists at the individual and community level. In recent years, healthcare organizations have begun assessing patients’ social needs to pilot interventions to help meet those needs. Organizations that take the time to learn about the communities where patients live, work, and play, have a better chance of helping patients make better health decisions by adapting recommendations to fit their lives.

ACCC has developed an educational initiative called Social Drivers of Health in Metastatic Breast Cancer. The goal of this work is to identify barriers to equitable access to metastatic breast cancer care and the impacts of social determinants of health for patients with metastatic breast cancer. ACCC seeks to determine whether and to what degree assessing and addressing social determinants of health is linked with selection of guideline-concordant treatment choices for patients with HR+ HER2- metastatic breast cancer; and to assess alignment of clinical practices with guideline recommendations for HR+ HER2- metastatic breast cancer in minoritized patients.

Project Objectives

  • Determine whether and to what degree assessing and addressing social drivers of health is linked with selection of guideline-concordant treatment choices for patients with HR+ HER2- metastatic breast cancer
  • Identify tools to help providers address social drivers of health, including linkage with local patient resources and community-based support services
  • Assess alignment of clinical practices with guideline recommendations for HR+ HER2- metastatic breast cancer in minoritized patients

Cancer Buzz Podcasts

  • Social Determinants of Health in Metastatic Breast Cancer – [Mini Podcast]  Ep 154
    May 30, 2024

     

    Social determinants of health have been proven to impact access to care, but further delineation is necessary to describe their effect on treatment selection itself. To mitigate this knowledge gap, the Association of Cancer Care Centers (ACCC) sought to identify the impact that social determinants of health may have on guideline-concordant treatment selection in hormone receptor positive, HER2 negative, metastatic breast cancer and early breast cancer. 

For more information on this project, please contact the ACCC Provider Education department.

Our Supporter

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This project was made possible with support from Pfizer.