NSW State Cancer Conference 2023

The Western NSW approach to managing inequity of access to cancer services (#20)

Florian Honeyball 1
  1. Dubbo Base Hospital, Dubbo East, NSW, Australia

Approximately one in three people in Australia live in a rural or remote setting yet only one in ten medical oncologists identify their primary work location as being in these areas. Despite cancer incidence being higher outside major metropolitan areas, limited access to specialist care magnifies the inequity experienced by those living in rural or remote Australia in terms of poorer health literacy, greater burden of comorbidity, lower socioeconomic status and limited access to primary care. This talk will outline the current state of play for people living with cancer in the regions, barriers to accessing preventive and screening practices, and potential pathways to solving the outcome gaps between city dwellers and their non-metropolitan peers.