Dr. Karen Winkfield, the Ingram Professor of Cancer Research at Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center, is advocating for a transformative approach to cancer care delivery that prioritizes community engagement and accessibility. Speaking at a recent Institute for Value-Based Medicine® event, Dr. Winkfield emphasized the need to address healthcare disparities and adapt cancer care systems to serve diverse populations effectively.
Understanding Diverse Healthcare Needs
"Different people are going to have different access points to what is possible here in this country," explains Dr. Winkfield, who also serves as professor of medicine at Meharry Medical College and executive director of the Meharry-Vanderbilt Alliance. She emphasizes that healthcare accessibility extends beyond insurance coverage, encompassing socioeconomic factors, language barriers, and cultural considerations that impact the entire cancer care continuum.
Breaking Down Barriers to Care
The challenge of accessing cancer care is particularly acute for certain populations. Dr. Winkfield points out that some communities face intentional disenfranchisement, creating multiple barriers to healthcare access. These obstacles can be especially daunting for breadwinners who fear that a cancer diagnosis might disrupt their ability to support their families.
Building Trust Through Cultural Competency
Healthcare providers must develop cultural humility and strong relationship-building skills to effectively serve diverse communities. "The onus when it comes to a patient-physician relationship is really on the physician to establish trust with your patients," Dr. Winkfield states. This approach requires understanding various community contexts, whether defined by geography, ethnicity, or language.
Bridging Research and Community Impact
Dr. Winkfield challenges researchers to make their work more accessible and meaningful to the public. She emphasizes the importance of communicating scientific advances in ways that demonstrate value to taxpayers and local communities. "Researchers must learn how to talk about their research in a way that the communities that we serve can really understand," she asserts.
Practical Steps for Community Engagement
While some view community engagement as time-consuming, Dr. Winkfield suggests practical approaches such as conducting annual educational talks on cancer screening or sharing information about medical advances. These efforts help establish healthcare institutions as trusted partners in community health.
The focus on community engagement is particularly crucial as cancer treatment innovations continue to advance. Dr. Winkfield warns that without proper attention to accessibility and community trust, breakthrough treatments might not reach all populations equally, potentially exacerbating existing healthcare disparities.
