{ _image:alt }

EquityCancer-LA: Improving equity in access to early diagnosis of cancer in different health systems in Latin America

Chile, Colombia, Ecuador

Project contact

Background

Healthcare fragmentation is a main cause for delay in cancer diagnosis and treatment, contributing to high and steadily increasing mortality rates in Latin America, particularly among disadvantaged population groups.

Aims

EquityCancer-LA is a participatory, interdisciplinary, and mix-methods implementation research aimed at evaluating the contextual effectiveness of scaling-up a multicomponent integrated care intervention to improve early cancer diagnosis in healthcare networks of Chile, Colombia and Ecuador.

Project plan

EquityCancer-LA will focus on integrated care interventions, which have proven effective at improving early diagnosis of cancer, but have been limitedly implemented or evaluated in Latin America.

This research project is two-pronged: a) a quasi-experimental design (controlled before and after) with an intervention and a control healthcare network; b) a case study design.

Focusing on the most vulnerable population groups, it will develop in four phases:

  1. analysis of delays, related factors and contextual barriers to early diagnosis (base-line);

  2. adaptation and scaling-up of the intervention (PC training, fast-track referral pathway and patient information, adapting available ICT tools) in real life;

  3. intra-country evaluation of intervention;

  4. cross-country analysis. EquityCancer-LA will contribute to advance cancer control policies by generating:

    • robust evidence on contextual effectiveness and costs-effectiveness of an affordable, tailored intervention to reduce diagnostic delays; and a validated strategy for its large-scale implementation in Latin America and LMICs;

    • novel data on delays and key barriers and facilitators to early diagnosis and inequalities in access;

    • e-tools to improve clinical practice and research on early diagnosis.

Publications and output

You may visit the project website for more information.

Principal investigators

  • Maria Luisa Vázquez Navarrete Consortium for Health Care of Social Services of Catalonia, Spain

  • Ingrid Vargas Lorenzo Consortium for Health Care of Social Services of Catalonia, Spain

Team members

  • Sónia Dias Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Portugal

  • Bruno Heleno Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Portugal

  • Carla Nunes Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Portugal

  • Julian Perelman Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Portugal

  • Janne Sorensen, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

  • Allan Krasnik University of Copenhagen, Denmark

  • Signe Smith Jervelund University of Copenhagen, Denmark

  • Pamela Eguiguren Universidad de Chile, Chile

  • Ana María Oyarce Universidad de Chile, Chile

  • Camilo Bass Universidad de Chile, Chile

  • Isabel Abarca Universidad de Chile, Chile

  • Maria Luisa Garmendia Universidad de Chile, Chile

  • Rodney Stock Universidad de Chile, Chile

  • Isabel Guzmán Universidad de Chile, Chile

  • Andrea Álvarez Universidad de Chile, Chile

  • Andrés Peralta Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Ecuador

  • Iván Dueñas Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Ecuador

  • Hugo Pereira Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Ecuador

  • Ana Lucía Torres Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Ecuador

  • Ana María Besoaín Cornejo Fundació Sant Joan de Déu, Spain

  • Paula Arroyo Uriarte Fundació Sant Joan de Déu, Spain

  • Mª Montserrat Gil-Girbau Fundació Sant Joan de Déu, Spain

  • Maria Rubio-Valera Fundació Sant Joan de Déu, Spain

  • Antoni Serrano-Blanco Fundació Sant Joan de Déu, Spain

  • Ignacio Aznar-Lou Fundació Sant Joan de Déu, Spain

  • Zahara Lucena Consorci de Salut i d’Atenció Social de Catalunya, Spain

  • Verónica Espinel Consorci de Salut i d’Atenció Social de Catalunya, Spain

  • Aida Oliver Consorci de Salut i d’Atenció Social de Catalunya, Spain

  • Josep Mª Borràs Consorci de Salut i d’Atenció Social de Catalunya, Spain

  • Ingrid Vargas Consorci de Salut i d’Atenció Social de Catalunya, Spain

  • M. Luisa Vázquez Consorci de Salut i d’Atenció Social de Catalunya, Spain

  • Ana María Pedraza Universidad del Rosario, Colombia

  • William Mantilla Universidad del Rosario, Colombia

  • Amparo Mogollón Universidad del Rosario, Colombia

  • Virginia García Universidad del Rosario, Colombia

  • Angela María Pinzón Universidad del Rosario, Colombia

Would this content be useful for a friend or colleague?

Navigation