Resources such as rideshare programs have also been found to help, with Manning previously conducting a pilot study with a free program to transport radiation therapy patients. It helped reduce no-show rates among vulnerable populations.

Dr. Samuel Cykert, professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and principal investigator for the trial, says making structural changes within an institution is what helps reduce disparities. "The onus for change is on the system, not the individual patient. People can't help it if they miss a treatment day because they have a child to take care of, for example. The intervention also flags delays in care within the health system itself that occur even when patients don't miss appointments."

The ACCURE team is now looking at applying the intervention to other areas of healthcare, including pregnancy and maternity care. "We've shown it's possible to eliminate disparities in cancer treatment completion and that this change has the potential to close cancer survival gaps downstream. But we think the application can be much broader," said Manning.

Racial and ethnic disparities were ranked as the number one concern by ECRI in its Top 10 Patient Safety Concerns for 2021. Based on more than four million patient safety events, the report indicated that such gaps were further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. This was especially true for Hispanic and Latinx persons, who were three times more likely to be hospitalized and twice as likely to die from COVID-19 compared to white, non-Hispanic people, it said.

“Clearly, racial disparities will not disappear overnight,” said Dr. Marcus Schabacker, president and CEO of ECRI, the nation’s largest patient safety organization, in a statement at the time. “By profiling this issue, we are calling much-needed attention to this public health crisis.”

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