The relationship between radiation oncology department NIH funding and institutional community inclusion/investment.

Abstract

153 Background: Disparities in healthcare access and funding allocation persist among racial minorities and low-income populations. Radiation Oncology departments play a crucial role in cancer treatment, yet the extent to which these departments serve historically underrepresented communities following receipt of National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding remains unclear. This study accessed the relationship between radiation oncology departments that are awarded National Institute of Health (NIH) funding and Lown Institute Hospitals Index rankings for community benefit and inclusivity. Methods: Radiation oncology departments awarded funding from the NIH from 2019-2021 were retrospectively studied. The 2023 Lown Institute Hospital Index rankings for community benefit and inclusivity were examined. The community benefit metric measures financial assistance spending, community investment spending, and Medicaid as a portion of patient revenue. The inclusivity metric measures the similarities of income, race, and education level between the hospital patient population and the surrounding community. Kendall’s correlation coefficient (tau value) and linear regression were used to evaluate the relationship between measures of community benefit and inclusivity and NIH radiation oncology department research funding. Results: Twenty-two radiation oncology departments that received NIH funding (median = $ 419,555.00) were included. A statistically significant positive correlation was observed between the amount of radiation oncology NIH research funding received and institutional rankings for overall community benefit (tau = 0.378; P < 0.034), with a trend towards significance for institutional rankings for community investment spending (tau = 0.497; P < 0.053). No significant correlation was observed between the amount of radiation oncology department funding and institutional rankings for charity care spending (P = 0.430), Medicaid as a portion of patient revenue (P = 0.837), and service of patients from racial and or ethnic minorities (P = 0.505), with low income (P = 0.612), or with lower levels of education (P = 0.700). Conclusions: Our study highlights the relationship between recent NIH funding received by Radiation Oncology departments and their commitment to community health and inclusivity. Our findings indicate a significantly positive correlation between NIH funding received by radiation oncology departments and overall community benefit. This suggests that departments receiving NIH funding may be incentivized to allocate resources towards initiatives to improve community health outcomes beyond direct patient care. This study prompts further exploration into the mechanisms through which NIH-funded radiation oncology departments allocate resources and engage with their surrounding communities.