Harnessing big data to improve access to care and outcomes in refugees and recent migrants diagnosed with cancer

Research Summary

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in Australia, accounting for >14,000 deaths in 2017.  Approximately 30% of Australian residents were born overseas. Of the ~3.9 million Recent Migrants and Refugees (REMARs) who arrived in Australia between 2001-2020, the majority came from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) backgrounds. REMARs are a vulnerable group in Australia and face specific barriers to accessing health care, including language, finances, and lack of familiarity with services. REMARs often present with advanced cancer, with cancer services often a forgotten dimension of refugee health. In turn, this places such populations at greater risk of adverse health, social and economic outcomes.  
 
To date, the investigation of cancer control in people from REMAR backgrounds, has been limited; the main barrier being data unavailability. This has meant the inability to quantify the gaps in access to cancer treatment and survival when compared to patients from non-REMAR backgrounds. In turn it has led to an inability to target the appropriate interventions needed to ensure timely treatment and optimal cancer control. The recent availability of national visa and census information that can be matched to NSW data on all people diagnosed with cancer, allows the opportunity to finally study cancer control in this vulnerable population and assess the implications of the gaps in care on these patients’ survival and finances.

This research program will use big data to study whether REMARs diagnosed with cancer in NSW access the right treatments in a timely manner and the impacts of cancer on these people’s lifespan and employment.  The results of this research will allow for the identification and implementation of initiatives to improve the access to care and outcomes for people with cancer from these marginalised populations.