Trends and Predictors of Urban-Rural and Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Hospitalizations Associated with the Top Five Cancers
Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the U.S., with over 600,000 individuals in the nation losing their lives to a form of the disease in 2020. While cancer mortality has been explored quite extensively in the literature, very little is known about the hospitalization burden associated with the top five cancers, and the extent to which this burden varies by race, ethnicity, and rurality. Researchers will rely on the National Inpatient Sample for the years 2009 – 2019 to uncover race and place-based disparities in hospital-based outcomes for the leading cancers in the U.S. The analysis will provide insights into the extent to which residents along the urban-rural continuum living with one of the top five cancers have access to cheaper and more streamlined outpatient care.