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Sep 29
Education

EDU 48 - Improving Disability Inclusion in Radiation Oncology, from Theory to Clinic

03:45pm - 05:00pm ET
Health Care Access and Community Engagement

MODERATOR(S)

Carlos Rodriguez-Russo, MD - University of Minnesota

session DESCRIPTION

Accessibility is a critical yet underrecognized determinant of quality, safety, and equity in radiation oncology. Patients and providers with physical, sensory, cognitive and communication disabilities routinely encounter barriers throughout the radiation therapy care continuum, from consultation and simulation to treatment delivery and follow-up. This multidisciplinary education session will equip radiation oncology professionals with conceptual frameworks and practical tools to identify and address these barriers in clinical practice. The first speaker, a medical physicist and member of the AAPM Accessibility Subcommittee, will provide clear definitions of disability and accessibility and introduce a structured framework for understanding disability from both provider and patient perspectives. This speaker will introduce the concept of universal design and discuss how proactively designing systems, workflows and environments for diverse abilities can improve safety and care quality for all patients. The second speaker, a radiation oncology nurse and patient advocate, will draw on her lived experience of disability to highlight common, often overlooked barriers faced by patients in radiation oncology clinics. Through case-based examples, she will illustrate challenges related to communication, mobility, positioning and clinic navigation. Finally, she will describe the development of a departmental accessibility task force as a practical tool for identifying gaps, engaging stakeholders and implementing sustainable accessibility improvements. The final speaker, a neuroscientist with a focus on accessibility design, will describe the scientific literature surrounding disparities in oncology care for patients with disabilities and will discuss potential technological and population-level means of addressing these disparities in practice.

learning objectives

  1. Apply a structured framework to assess accessibility at their institution across the care continuum (consultation, simulation, treatment delivery and follow-up).
  2. Integrate universal design principles into decision making related to equipment use, staffing workflows, patient education materials and clinic layout.
  3. Initiate or participate in multidisciplinary efforts — such as a disability task force or quality improvement initiative — to address accessibility barriers at a departmental and/or national level.

Credits

AMA PRA Category 1 Credits: 1.00

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