Farima Asghari

and 3 more

Background: While the global childhood leukemia burden has declined since 1990, it remains the leading cause of childhood cancer mortality. Disparities in outcomes are stark, with high-income countries achieving significantly higher survival rates compared to resource-limited settings. This underscores the critical role of healthcare quality. Methods: We analyzed data on childhood leukemia (aged 0-14) from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation Global Burden of Disease project (1990-2021), including incidence, mortality, prevalence, and other health metrics. To assess the Quality of Care Index (QCI), we implemented a four-step process involving data acquisition and cleaning, optional data reduction, calculation of secondary measures and application of Principal Component Analysis (PCA), and finally data visualization. PCA identified a single component as the QCI, with higher scores indicating better quality of care. Results: Childhood leukemia incidence, mortality, and Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) declined globally, but regional disparities persist. High-middle Sociodemographic Index (SDI) countries have the highest incidence, while low SDI settings have the highest mortality and DALY rates. Global QCI average is 67.8, with variation between regions and SDI levels. High SDI countries have the highest QCI, while low SDI settings have the lowest. QCI decreases with age, and gender distribution is relatively equal globally, except in low and low-middle SDI settings. Conclusion: Despite global progress in reducing childhood leukemia, significant healthcare disparities persist. Future efforts must prioritize addressing these inequities, ensuring equitable access to quality care, and eliminating disparities based on SDI, age, and gender.