Multiple Lenses on Breast Imaging in Diverse Settings: Implications for Practice, Policy, and Research.

Abstract

Breast cancer is the leading cause of death from cancer worldwide and is the most common cancer. According to the World Health Organization, "health equity is defined as the absence of unfair and avoidable or remediable differences in health among population groups defined socially, economically, demographically, or geographically." Achieving health equity can address disparities in all arenas of medicine, including access to breast imaging and improving breast cancer outcomes. Thus, it is important to recognize the unique challenges of diverse practice types, including in the safety-net, community, and global setting when it comes to breast health and imaging inequities, as well as to formulate strategies to bridge the gap, from a practice, policy, and research perspective.