Improving Communication for Cancer Treatment: Addressing Concerns of Older Cancer Patients and Caregivers
Improving Communication for Cancer Treatment: Addressing Concerns of Older Cancer Patients and Caregivers
To improve patient-centered outcomes for older patients with cancer considering or receiving chemotherapy and their caregivers. To do this, the project team will (a) establish the effectiveness of GA on communication about age-related concerns, patient and caregiver satisfaction with communication about age-related concerns, quality of life, and patient-reported side effects of chemotherapy; (b) evaluate the success of the implementation strategies on the adoption, reach, and fidelity of implementing the GA in community oncology practices; and (c) identify the resources needed to implement GA and the GA-guided recommendations in community oncology practices for older patients considering or receiving chemotherapy.
Objectives:
Practice Staff Participants
Inclusion Criteria:
Exclusion Criteria:
Patient Participants
Inclusion Criteria:
Exclusion Criteria:
• Have been diagnosed with a health condition that precludes their ability to participate in informed consent or in the intervention (e.g., dementia which limits decision-making capacity).
Care Partner/Caregiver Participants (Care partners can be any partner, spouse, family member, and/or friend that has been identified by the patient and/or clinical team that supports the patient through treatment.)
Inclusion Criteria:
Exclusion Criteria:
• Unable to provide consent
Inclusion of Special Populations:
Employees. The rationale for including employees is to gain a better understanding of how we can improve cancer care for older patients with cancer receiving chemotherapy. It is possible that some employees may be pregnant women or military personnel. We intend to include these individuals as long as they meet the inclusion and exclusion criteria because this is a clinical improvement project to promote the implementation of the GA in routine clinical practice and should have external validity. These individuals would not be excluded in other clinical improvement projects outside of a research study.
Other special populations. This study will not include other special subject populations (students, Non-English-Speaking Populations, Minors, Human Fetuses; Neonates (infants under 30 days old), prisoners/detainees (wards)) because the purpose of the study is to understand the implementation of the GA in clinical oncology practices and its impact on patients 65+ with cancer and their care partners satisfaction with care, communication about their care, quality of life, and patient (65+) reported toxicities.