To address rural Australians’ inferior cancer survival, more needs to be known about what drives this disadvantage, and effective strategies that assist rural people to access optimal cancer treatment and adopt healthier lifestyles during and after cancer treatment (so that they can better manage side effects and reduce their risk of cancer reoccurring), are likely to be required.
As part of a body of multi-disciplinary behavioral research focused on addressing this, and building upon her clinical experience from working as a Clinical Psychologist with people affected by cancer, as well as from lived experience from growing up in a remote community, in April-June 2018 Dr Kate Gunn undertook a Churchill Fellowship to ascertain pertinent research questions that are likely to translate into improved understanding of and better outcomes for, this disadvantaged group of cancer survivors. Information was gathered from the World Rural Health Conference in New Delhi, as well as visits to Macmillan Cancer Support in London and over 30 universities, cancer control organisations, treatment centres and non-government organisations across the Netherlands, Canada and United States, including the National Cancer Institute and American Cancer Society, and a follow-up trip to Scotland in July 2019.
Insights and strategies that have successfully improved rural cancer outcomes in other contexts will be outlined (e.g. lay and nurse-led rural patient navigation, delivery of supportive care interventions via the internet and telehealth networks), with the view to generating research interest and new collaborations in Australia, to help progress this work. While understanding and addressing rural-urban cancer disparities using culturally appropriate methods is currently receiving much attention in the United States, rural Australians affected by cancer would benefit from more funding and effort being directed towards multi-disciplinary, translational research in this field.