HIAYA CHAT study protocol: a randomized controlled trial of a health insurance education intervention for newly diagnosed adolescent and young adult cancer patients

Karely Mann, Austin R Waters, Elyse R Park, Giselle K Perez, Perla L Vaca Lopez, Heydon K Kaddas, Echo L Warner, Nicole Ray, Tomoko Tsukamoto, Karlie Allen, Ben Haaland, Douglas B Fair, Mark A Lewis, Anne C Kirchhoff, Karely Mann, Austin R Waters, Elyse R Park, Giselle K Perez, Perla L Vaca Lopez, Heydon K Kaddas, Echo L Warner, Nicole Ray, Tomoko Tsukamoto, Karlie Allen, Ben Haaland, Douglas B Fair, Mark A Lewis, Anne C Kirchhoff

Abstract

Background: For adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer patients aged 18 to 39 years, health insurance literacy is crucial for an effective use of the health care system. AYAs often face high out-of-pocket costs or have unmet health care needs due to costs. Improving health insurance literacy could help AYAs obtain appropriate and affordable health care. This protocol illustrates a randomized controlled trial testing a virtual health insurance education intervention among AYA patients.

Methods: This is a two-arm multisite randomized controlled trial. A total of 80 AYAs diagnosed with cancer in the Mountain West region will be allocated to either usual navigation care or tailored health insurance education intervention with a patient navigator that includes usual care. All participants will complete a baseline and follow-up survey 5 months apart. The primary outcomes are feasibility (number enrolled and number of sessions completed) and acceptability (5-point scale on survey measuring satisfaction of the intervention). The secondary outcomes are preliminary efficacy measured by the Health Insurance Literacy Measure and the COmprehensive Score for financial Toxicity.

Discussion: This trial makes a timely contribution to test the feasibility and acceptability of a virtual AYA-centered health insurance education program.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04448678. Registered on June 26, 2020.

Keywords: Adolescent and young adult; Cancer; Health insurance; Health insurance literacy; Patient navigation; Pilot randomized controlled trial; Virtual intervention.

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

© 2022. The Author(s).

Figures

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Aims outline
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RCT design
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Conceptual framework
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Participant timeline

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Source: PubMed

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