ExACT: Examining Inequities in Accessing Lung Cancer Treatment
The purpose of the ExACT study is to better understand the barriers to accessing timely cancer treatment for people who are socioeconomically disadvantaged with lung cancer, so that we can design cancer treatment policies and services to minimize barriers.

The specific objectives of the ExACT study are to:
- Examine barriers to lung cancer treatment among people experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage in Manitoba.
- Identify strategies developed and implemented elsewhere that improve access to cancer treatment for people experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage.
- Engage with communities, health care providers, and health systems leaders to co-develop organizational and systems-level strategies to improve access to cancer treatment in Manitoba and identify next steps for research.
Brief summary of the ExACT study:
Being able to access high quality cancer treatment in a timely way increases peoples’ chances of surviving cancer and improves their quality of life. Yet people who are socioeconomically disadvantaged (for example, living in poverty) have difficulty accessing treatment because they are often not referred to a cancer specialist after diagnosis, are unable to access cancer treatment on time, or receive lower quality care. But we do not have a good understanding of exactly why this is happening. The goal of this study is to better understand the barriers to accessing timely cancer treatment for people who are socioeconomically disadvantaged with lung cancer, so that we can design cancer treatment policies and services to minimize barriers. In this five-year study, we will first gain a clearer sense of how the health system is failing to meet the needs of socioeconomically disadvantaged people and creating barriers to their receiving timely cancer treatment by a) hearing the stories of patients; b) speaking with oncologists and other healthcare providers (for example, nurses, social workers); and c) studying patient charts. Then will look at strategies that have been used in other provinces and countries to improve access to cancer treatment for people often excluded from the health system because of socioeconomic disadvantage. Last, we will hold community discussion sessions with patients, family and community members, and people who work in or are leaders in cancer care in Manitoba to share what we have learned. Through these discussions, we will brainstorm together about how policies and services could be designed differently, and the healthcare system improved to make access to lung cancer treatment better and more equitable. By the end of the discussion sessions, we hope to have co-developed ideas for what changes need to be made and how to make them, and we will have identified the next steps in research to make cancer treatment accessible to everyone.
Link to participate:
Coming soon!This study is being conducted in collaboration with researchers from
CancerCare Manitoba
The University of British Columbia
UVIC
Karolinska Institutet