Meeting the Information Needs of Lower Income Cancer Survivors: Results of a Randomized Control Trial Evaluating the American Cancer Society's “I Can Cope”

Abstract

The American Cancer Society is a leader in the development of cancer survivorship resources. One resource of the American Cancer Society is the I Can Cope program, an educational program for cancer survivors and their families. Evaluations of this program indicate that cancer patients highly rate its objectives. Yet, there are gaps in the understanding of the full impact of the program on diverse cancer survivors. In this study, the authors used a randomized trial to evaluate the program. Participants included 140 low-income survivors (79% Black; 38% breast cancer) from community hospitals who were randomized to 4 sessions of I Can Cope (learning about cancer; understanding cancer treatments; relieving cancer pain; and keeping well in mind and body) or 4 sessions of a wellness intervention (humor, meditation, relaxation, and music therapy). The authors' primary outcome was “met information needs.” After controlling for covariates, their analysis indicated that I Can Cope was no more effective than the wellness intervention in addressing survivor information needs relative to the learning objectives. Participants provided high overall ratings for both interventions. Self-efficacy for obtaining advice about cancer, age, education, and income were associated with information needs. Educational programs tailored to levels of self-efficacy and patient demographics may be needed.

Notes

^a Hormone therapy applies only to patients who were diagnosed with breast cancer or prostate cancer.

^b Total in treatment at baseline indicates patients who received at least one of the following treatments: chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or hormone therapy.

^c Chemotherapy applies only to those who responded that they had received chemotherapy for their cancer.

^d Radiation therapy applies only to those who responded that they had received radiation treatments for their cancer.

^e Hormone therapy applies only to those who had been prescribed a hormone treatment.

Note. Scale scores ranged from 0 (no need for information) to 3 (high informational needs).

Note. Values in bold represent significant covariates. Data represent p values.

^a Time of assessment (baseline, postintervention, 6-month postintervention).

^b Information-seeking behavior (i.e., looking for information about cancer from sources other than doctor, nurse, or other health provider).

Note. Values in bold represent significant covariates. Data represent p values.

^a Time of assessment (baseline, postintervention, 6-month postintervention).

^b Information-seeking behavior (i.e., looking for information about cancer from sources other than doctor, nurse, or other health provider).

^a “Today's session was … ” reported on a 4-point scale ranging from 4 (excellent) to 1 (poor).

^b “The session was worth my time,” reported on a 10-point scale ranging from 1 (disagree) to 10 (agree).

^c “This session presented information or techniques that can be useful to me as a cancer survivor,” reported on a 10-point scale ranging from 1 (disagree) to 10 (agree).

^d “The session taught me something I did not know” reported on a 10-point scale ranging from 1 (disagree) to 10 (agree). This was asked of the ICC participants only.

^e Responses were transcribed verbatim here.

This research was supported by Cooperative Agreement U48/DP000567-1 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Cancer Society awarded to Michelle Y. Martin. The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.