Weaving with a Pink Ribbon: An Interdisciplinary Analysis of Cancer Representation and Research Funding in Qatar

Abstract

In order for scientists to conduct cancer research, they must first acquire funding from organizations that fund research that they deem to be significant, an approach that leads to the selective funding of some cancers over others. Selective funding has caused some cancer types to be funded reliably while others are consistently underfunded, thus creating a disparity of funding that limits the medical advancement of underfunded cancers. To tackle the problem of selective funding and the resulting funding disparity, researchers should understand both how and why organizations fund certain cancer research. While the social effect of different cancers—e.g. cancers with high prevalence or lethality—is an intuitive answer, researchers have found that the social impact does not always correlate with funding levels. Conversely, positive social effect—e.g. advocacy—has historically played a significant role in influencing how organizations allocate funding by influencing how society perceives cancer through representation. However, cancer representation remains understudied in how it interacts with cancer research funding and healthcare. Using Qatar as a feasible case study, I analyzed cancer representations of breast and ovarian cancer within Qatari institutions and mapped this analysis onto Qatar’s research and health systems, accounting for Qatar’s socio-political structure. In this paper, I explore the potential relationships between representation and funding in a case where representations reinforce governmental research priorities and incorporate localized ideologies to influence health experiences, serving as a example of how researchers might explore cancer representation and its funding in other contexts.

Plain Language Summary

Scholars have noted and investigated disparities in the funding available to researchers studying different types of cancer. They have found that funding does not proportionately map onto the social burden of each cancer type and that funding advocacy campaigns can have significant impacts on funding. Further, the relationships between funding and different cancers are difficult to study because they are intertwined in complex research and funding ecosystems in places like the US. Using the bounded public health and research context of Qatar as a case, the present study investigates this relationship by using representation theory as a basis for investigating public outreach information about breast and ovarian cancers.

Keywords:

• Representation,
• Research Funding,
• Cancer Representation,
• Funding Disparity,
• Representational Analysis