Date of Award

1-1-2018

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Medical Doctor (MD)

Department

Medicine

First Advisor

James B. Yu

Second Advisor

Shari Damast

Abstract

A database of radiation therapy (RT) facilities in the US based on state regulatory data has not been updated since 2006. Our objective was to compile an updated dataset, map the locations of RT facilities for qualitative analysis, compare the regulatory data with other commonly used sources, and identify county-level factors associated with increased odds of containing an RT facility. We compiled data on 2069 sites from regulatory bodies in 41 states, mapped the data, compared it to the AMA Masterfile and AHA Survey results, and used multivariate logistic regression to analyze county-level factors associated with increased odds of containing an RT facility. We found that 12% of counties with RT were included only in the regulatory data (and neither of the other databases studied). We also found that larger population, higher income, urban status, and younger median age were significantly associated with county-level access to RT based on logistic regression (P

Download

Share

COinS