Transitioning Care: Perspectives of Older Women With Early Breast Cancer on Current Telemedicine Modalities

NCT04990934 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: LCCC2105
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 15
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Explosive growth in the use of telemedicine (video or telephone visits) has followed the onset of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in order to meet healthcare needs while avoiding unnecessary exposure risks in ambulatory care spaces. Accordingly, in March 2020, the Centers for Medicare \& Medicaid Services expanded reimbursement for telemedicine visits to equal that of in-person services. The policy and infrastructure that enabled this emergency transition is laying the groundwork for enduring expansion of elective telemedicine, a technology that could significantly decrease the burden of medical care in older patients with cancer. To benefit from telehealth, patients must have a certain level of knowledge and capacity to engage with technology, which can be a challenge for some older adults because of inexperience, access, and disability. As cancer is mainly a disease of older adults, with a median age of 65 at diagnosis for most cancer types, this is a significant limitation on the utility of telemedicine in oncology. The goal of our study is to better understand older breast cancer patients' experiences with telephone and video telemedicine with regard to visit convenience, completeness, and interpersonal satisfaction through semi-structured interviews with patients.

Conditions

Breast Cancer Female; Breast Cancer

Keywords

Telemedicine

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Qualitative Summaries of Interviews about Participant Experience with Telemedicine

  Qualitative Summaries derived from content analysis of semi-structured interview transcripts around themes and sub themes of convenience, psychosocial experience, baseline comfort with technology, preference for telephone vs. video visits, and desire to continue using telemedicine in the future.

  3 months post study start

Study Arms (2)

Video Telemedicine

20 participants will have used video telemedicine for appointments with their treating oncologist.

Behavioral: Semistructured Interview

Telephone Telemedicine

10 participants will have used telephone telemedicine for appointments with their treating oncologist.

Behavioral: Semistructured Interview

Interventions

Semistructured Interview BEHAVIORAL

Patients with breast cancer (Stage I-III) will be interviewed about their experiences of telemedicine.

Telephone Telemedicine; Video Telemedicine

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 65 Years - 110 Years
• Gender Eligibility Details: Self-identifying women will be eligible
• Age Groups: Older Adult (65+)
• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients diagnosed with early BC (Stage I-III) who have completed primary treatment and received in-person outpatient care at North Carolina Cancer Hospital before transitioning to telemedicine after March 2020.

You may qualify if:

• female
• age 65 or older
• diagnosed with early breast cancer (Stage I-III)
• completed primary treatment (surgery, chemotherapy, radiation treatment)
• received in-person outpatient care at North Caroline Cancer Hospital before transitioning to telemedicine after March 2020
• providing written informed consent
• able to understand and speak English.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center: lead

Study Sites (1)

UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, School of Medicine

Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599, United States

Location

Related Publications (4)

• Sirintrapun SJ, Lopez AM. Telemedicine in Cancer Care. Am Soc Clin Oncol Educ Book. 2018 May 23;38:540-545. doi: 10.1200/EDBK_200141.

  PMID: 30231354 BACKGROUND

• Eberly LA, Kallan MJ, Julien HM, Haynes N, Khatana SAM, Nathan AS, Snider C, Chokshi NP, Eneanya ND, Takvorian SU, Anastos-Wallen R, Chaiyachati K, Ambrose M, O'Quinn R, Seigerman M, Goldberg LR, Leri D, Choi K, Gitelman Y, Kolansky DM, Cappola TP, Ferrari VA, Hanson CW, Deleener ME, Adusumalli S. Patient Characteristics Associated With Telemedicine Access for Primary and Specialty Ambulatory Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic. JAMA Netw Open. 2020 Dec 1;3(12):e2031640. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.31640.

  PMID: 33372974 BACKGROUND

• Narasimha S, Madathil KC, Agnisarman S, Rogers H, Welch B, Ashok A, Nair A, McElligott J. Designing Telemedicine Systems for Geriatric Patients: A Review of the Usability Studies. Telemed J E Health. 2017 Jun;23(6):459-472. doi: 10.1089/tmj.2016.0178. Epub 2016 Nov 22.

  PMID: 27875667 BACKGROUND

• Rowland JH, Bellizzi KM. Cancer survivorship issues: life after treatment and implications for an aging population. J Clin Oncol. 2014 Aug 20;32(24):2662-8. doi: 10.1200/JCO.2014.55.8361. Epub 2014 Jul 28.

  PMID: 25071099 BACKGROUND

Related Links

• Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020, HR 6074, 116th Cong (2020)
• Medicare and Medicaid Programs, Basic Health Program, and Exchanges; Additional Policy and Regulatory Revisions in Response to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency
• Final Policy, Payment, and Quality Provisions Changes to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule for Calendar Year 2021 (December 1, 2020).
• Pew Research Center: Tech Adoption Climbs Among Older Adults

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Breast Neoplasms

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Neoplasms by Site; Neoplasms; Breast Diseases; Skin Diseases; Skin and Connective Tissue Diseases

Study Officials

• Caroline R Buse, MM, BA, BM

  UNC School of Medicine Student

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: CASE ONLY
• Time Perspective: RETROSPECTIVE
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: June 25, 2021
• First Posted: August 5, 2021
• Study Start: July 2, 2021
• Primary Completion: October 10, 2021
• Study Completion: October 10, 2021
• Last Updated: December 9, 2021

Record last verified: 2021-12

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL, ICF
• Time Frame: 9 to 24 months following publication
• Access Criteria: When data sharing is permitted, a Data Use Agreement (DUA) specifying the uses of such data to be shared must be in place before any data is shared. Requests can be submitted to the UNC Office of Industry Contracting for processing. The Principal Investigator must confirm that the DUA has been fully executed and IRB, IEC, or REB approval has been granted before sharing data.

Locations

US (1)