Improving Communication for Cancer Treatment: Addressing Concerns of Older Cancer Patients and Caregivers

Objectives:

• Establish the effectiveness of GA on patient and caregiver satisfaction and communication about age-related concerns for older patients receiving chemotherapy in community oncology practices.
• Evaluate the success of our implementation strategies on the reach, adoption, and fidelity of implementing the GA in community oncology practices.
• Identify the resources needed to implement GA and the GA-guided recommendations in community oncology practices for older patients receiving chemotherapy.

Practice Staff Participants

Inclusion criteria

• Aged 18 years or older
• A practicing clinician (e.g., oncologist, nurse practitioners, physician assistant, advanced practice nurse, registered nurse, medical assistant) or other practice staff (e.g., administrators and IT)
• Fluent in English (reading and speaking)
• Have access to computer, laptop, tablet, or smart phone

Exclusion criteria

• Have plans to leave the practice in six months (e.g., retiring or changing organizations)
• Unable to provide consent

Patient Participants

Inclusion criteria

• Aged 65 and older
• Considering a new chemotherapy plan

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

• Aged 18 years and older
• Fluent in English (reading and speaking)
• Have access to computer, laptop, tablet, or smart phone

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.