Feasibility and Utilization of an Application-based Question Prompt List

Improving Treatment Cost Discussions Between Cancer Patients and Their Oncologists: Feasibility and Utilization of an Application-based Question Prompt List

The overall goal of this research is to reduce financial toxicity related to the cost of cancer treatment in a diverse patient population. The research tests the feasibility of an application-based ("app") communication intervention designed to improve the frequency and quality of patient-oncologist treatment cost discussions during clinical interactions, which, in turn, should improve other short- and longer-term patient outcomes, including referrals to economic support (e.g., social work); efficacy in managing treatment cost; treatment cost distress; financial toxicity; and treatment adherence. If successful, this study will result in an evidence-based tool that can reduce financial toxicity and improve medical outcomes for a diverse patient population.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Cancer; Financial Toxicity; Question Prompt List
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Discussions of Cost App (DISCO App)

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 35
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Michigan
    • Detroit, Michigan, United States, 48201
      • Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Medical oncologists or radiation oncologists at KCI McLaren Detroit, McLaren Flint, McLaren Macomb and McLaren Port Huron oncology centers
• Oncologists will be eligible if they treat patients with prostate, breast, lung or colorectal cancers.
• Oncologists will be consented
• Patients must be 18 yrs. old or older
• Patients will be consented
• Patients must be able to read and write in English
• Patients must have a confirmed diagnosis of breast, prostate, lung or colorectal cancer and are scheduled to see an oncologist for an initial treatment discussion.

Exclusion Criteria:

• N/A

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Intervention / Treatment

Experimental: Intervention Arm; This feasibility study includes only one arm. All enrolled patients will be asked to use the intervention.

Behavioral: Discussions of Cost App (DISCO App); The DISCO App is an app-based and patient-focused intervention designed to improve the frequency and quality of patient-oncologist treatment cost discussions. The DISCO App allows patients to provide basic demographic information (e.g., employment status, insurance status, etc), and uses that information to provide patients with an individually-tailored list of treatment cost questions they can ask their provider.; Other Names: DISCO App

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Patient-oncologist treatment cost discussions	Observational measures using video-recorded patient-oncologist treatment discussions	During the treatment discussions and observed via video recordings of those discussions.
Patient-oncologist treatment cost discussions	Self-report measures of if and how patients and oncologists discuss treatment cost.	Collected immediately after the interaction with the oncologist

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Patient financial demographics	Patient financial situation (e.g., income, perceived economic burden, etc.)	Collected immediately prior to the interaction with the oncologist
Change in patient treatment cost information desired and gained	What cost treatment information patients want before the interaction and if they gained it during the interaction with their oncologist.	Collected immediately prior to and immediately after the interaction with the oncologist
Change in patient efficacy in managing treatment cost (10-item scale). This measure will assess any change in the patients' efficacy in paying for the cost of their cancer treatment before and after the intervention.	If patients think they will be able to pay for the cost of their cancer treatment. This is adapted from a validated 10-item scale (Peterson AM, Harper FW, Albrecht TL, et al. Parent caregiver self-efficacy and child reactions to pediatric cancer treatment procedures. J Pediatr Oncol Nurs. 2014;31(1):18-27.) An example item is: "I am confident I can pay for the costs of my treatment." Patients will respond to a scale from Strongly Disagree (1) to Strongly Agree (5) with higher values representing a better outcome.	Collected immediately prior to and immediately after the interaction with the oncologist
Satisfaction with treatment cost discussions (3-item scale). This will assess the extent to which patients are satisfied with any discussions of treatment cost they had with their oncologist.	The extent to which patients are satisfied with any treatment cost discussion they had with their oncologist. This is an investigator-developed 3-item scale. An example item is: "I am satisfied with how my oncologist and I discussed treatment cost today." Patients will respond to a scale from Strongly Disagree (1) to Strongly Agree (5) with higher values representing a better outcome.	Collected immediately after the interaction with the oncologist
Length of the interaction	Observer measure of the length of the patient-oncologist collected using video recordings.	During the patient-oncologist interaction and observed via video recordings of the treatment discussions
DISCO App use (observer measure)	Observer measure of how patients use the DISCO App collected using video recordings	Prior to and during the patient-oncologist interaction

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Lauren Hamel, Ph.D., Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): August 21, 2018
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 31, 2019
• Study Completion (Actual): December 31, 2019

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: September 12, 2018
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 18, 2018
• First Posted (Actual): September 19, 2018

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): October 5, 2020
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 1, 2020
• Last Verified: October 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: financial toxicity, cancer, treatment cost, patient-provider communication
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavioral Symptoms; Stress, Psychological; Financial Stress
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2017-129

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No