Disparities in lung cancer care and outcomes in New South Wales

PhD thesis by Kalinda Griffiths – University of Sydney

Thesis

My thesis, ‘Disparities in lung cancer care and outcomes in New South Wales’, comprises a series of iterative studies examining the treatment and outcomes for lung cancer in NSW among at-risk groups including Indigenous populations, people living outside metropolitan areas, migrants, and socioeconomically disadvantaged groups. The aim of the research was to develop an evidence base of current disparities through descriptive analysis of existing data sets, and also to further understand the barriers and enablers in treatment for lung cancer to develop interventions that could potentially assist with reducing disparities in the treatment and therefore the outcomes in these groups.

Background

I am of Yawuru, Indonesian and Welsh heritage and, although I have spent a lot of my schooling and working life in Darwin, I also have strong links to Broome in Western Australia through her mother’s Yawuru extended family. A laboratory traineeship from Lowitja Institute predecessor the CRC for Aboriginal and Tropical Health when I was 17 led to a research career at the Menzies School of Health Research. While there, I completed an undergraduate degree in biomedical science and then a Master of Public Health. I was awarded the 2011 Northern Territory Young Australian of the Year in recognition of her achievements in health research over a decade.