OBJECTIVES: Social determinants of health (SDOH), including transportation-related barriers, limit access to cancer care services and contribute to poor clinical outcomes. Previous research has demonstrated transportation barriers are associated with increased mortality among patients with cancer. The objective of this study was to examine perceptions of transportation barriers among U.S. community oncologists and its effect on their patients’ health.

METHODS: Survey questions were administered to U.S. community oncologists at an in-person summit in November 2022. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the results.

RESULTS: Respondents’ (N=56) primary specialty was medical oncology (61%) and had an average of 20 years in practice. The respondents identified financial stability (80%), education (53%), employment (35%), and transportation (33%) as the top SDOH factors affecting their patients’ health. Almost two-thirds of respondents reported that at least a third of their patients require transportation assistance from public or private services. Seventy-seven percent of respondents reported having patients in the past 12 months require emergency care due to the inability to receive cancer therapy caused by transportation barriers. Despite this, 44% of respondents reported their practice does not offer transportation to their patients. The most common transportation services used by respondents (32%) for their patients were those through local services (i.e., rideshare, hospital-based transportation, etc.), and 80% of respondents reported offering telehealth services. Ninety percent of respondents were aware of healthcare transportation (e.g., American Cancer Society transportation, hospital-based transportation), but only 31% are recommending these services to their patients.

CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that although community oncologists are relatively aware of transportation services for patients with cancer, there is an unmet need to expand the use of services. Additional research is needed to better characterize transportation insecurity among patients with cancer to inform the development of screening tools and interventions leading to improved health equity.