TY - JOUR
T1 - Rural-urban differences in discussions of cancer treatment clinical trials
AU - Vanderpool, Robin Cline
AU - Kornfeld, Julie
AU - Mills, Laurel
AU - Byrne, Margaret Mary
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by a National Cancer Institute award [ N02C051107-12-0-0 ] and the Florida Bankhead Coley Research Program [ 07BP-01-12333 ].
Copyright:
Copyright 2012 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2011/11
Y1 - 2011/11
N2 - Objective: Compare the characteristics of rural and urban callers to NCI's Cancer Information Service (CIS), and explore the association of geographic location and discussion of cancer clinical trials. Methods: Using CIS call data from 2006 to 2008, we assigned a rural or urban designation to caller ZIP codes using Rural-Urban Commuting Area Codes. Calls which discussed clinical trials were analyzed using univariate and multivariate analyses. Results: The CIS received 227,579 calls from 2006 to 2008 where geographic location could be determined. Overall, 10.3% of calls included a discussion of clinical trials; there were significantly more discussions among urban dwellers than rural individuals (10.5% versus 9.4%, respectively). Multivariate regression analyses supported the univariate findings. In addition, compared to other callers, patients (OR 5.58 [95% CI: 4.88, 6.39]) and family and friends (6.26 [5.48, 71.5]) were significantly more likely to discuss clinical trials. Conclusion: Urban callers were more likely than their rural counterparts to discuss cancer treatment trials, placing individuals living in rural areas at a disadvantage in learning about and communicating with their providers about possible participation in clinical trials. Practice implications: Through its multiple access points, the CIS can serve as an important source of clinical trials information for rural cancer patients, family members, and providers.
AB - Objective: Compare the characteristics of rural and urban callers to NCI's Cancer Information Service (CIS), and explore the association of geographic location and discussion of cancer clinical trials. Methods: Using CIS call data from 2006 to 2008, we assigned a rural or urban designation to caller ZIP codes using Rural-Urban Commuting Area Codes. Calls which discussed clinical trials were analyzed using univariate and multivariate analyses. Results: The CIS received 227,579 calls from 2006 to 2008 where geographic location could be determined. Overall, 10.3% of calls included a discussion of clinical trials; there were significantly more discussions among urban dwellers than rural individuals (10.5% versus 9.4%, respectively). Multivariate regression analyses supported the univariate findings. In addition, compared to other callers, patients (OR 5.58 [95% CI: 4.88, 6.39]) and family and friends (6.26 [5.48, 71.5]) were significantly more likely to discuss clinical trials. Conclusion: Urban callers were more likely than their rural counterparts to discuss cancer treatment trials, placing individuals living in rural areas at a disadvantage in learning about and communicating with their providers about possible participation in clinical trials. Practice implications: Through its multiple access points, the CIS can serve as an important source of clinical trials information for rural cancer patients, family members, and providers.
KW - Cancer
KW - Clinical trials
KW - Patient education
KW - Rural
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U2 - 10.1016/j.pec.2011.01.036
DO - 10.1016/j.pec.2011.01.036
M3 - Article
C2 - 21458194
AN - SCOPUS:80053946177
VL - 85
SP - e69-e74
JO - Patient Education and Counseling
JF - Patient Education and Counseling
SN - 0738-3991
IS - 2
ER -