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

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.

Completed

Looking for future studies?

Notify Me

Key information

Conditions

Breast Cancer Female Breast Cancer Breast Diseases Breast Neoplasms Neoplasms Neoplasms by Site Skin Diseases Skin and Connective Tissue Diseases

Age range

65 year–110 year

Sex eligibility

Female

Study type

Observational

Primary location

UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, School of Medicine

Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599, United States

About this study

Methods:

30 participants will be consented in this study. 20 will have participated in video telemedicine appointments with their treating breast cancer oncologists, and 10 will have used telephone. Semi-structured interviews lasting no more than 30 minutes will be conducted to ascertain the participant's (1) reason for choosing a certain telemedicine modality, (2) perception of telemedicine visit convenience, completeness, and interpersonal satisfaction compared to in-person visits, and (3) use of peripheral virtual support from healthcare team, such as messaging in MyChart. After the interview has been conducted, the patient will be asked complete the patient-reported portion of the Geriatric Assessment (GA) either through an internet link, or verbally with the research staff reading the questions and recording the answers. Data pertaining to the participant's breast cancer diagnosis and treatment will be extracted from Epic@UNC.

Who can participate

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

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.

Exclusion criteria

Patients who do not meet the inclusion criteria stated above will be excluded. There will be no further exclusion criteria.

Treatment and study plan

Semistructured Interview

Behavioral

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

Primary outcomes

Qualitative Summaries of Interviews about Participant Experience with Telemedicine

Time frame: 3 months post study start

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.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center

Other

Registry information

Important dates

Study start: 2021
Primary completion: 2021
Study completion: 2021
First posted: Aug 5, 2021
Registry last updated: Dec 9, 2021

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.

Completed