Feasibility and Acceptability of an Interactive Cancer-Communication Video Program Using African American Breast Cancer Survivor Stories

Abstract

To examine the feasibility and acceptability of an interactive video program of African American breast cancer survivor stories, we explored story reactions among African American women with newly diagnosed breast cancer and associations between patient factors and intervention use. During a randomized controlled trial, patients in the intervention arm completed a baseline/pre-intervention interview, received the video intervention, and completed a post-intervention 1-month follow-up interview. Additional video exposures and post-exposure interviews occurred at 6- and 12-month follow-ups. Multivariable linear mixed-effects models examined interview and clinical data in association with changes in minutes and actions using the program. After Exposure1, 104 of 108 patients allocated to the intervention reported moderate-to-high levels of positive emotional reactions to stories and identification with storytellers. Exposure1 mean usage was high (139 minutes) but declined over time (p <.0001). Patients receiving surgery plus radiation logged about 50 more minutes and actions over 12-month follow-up than patients receiving surgery only (p <.05); patients reporting greater trust in storytellers logged 18.6 fewer actions over time (p =.04). Patients’ topical interests evolved, with patients watching more follow-up care and survivorship videos at Exposure3. The intervention was feasible and evaluated favorably. New videos might satisfy patients’ changing interests.

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the National Cancer Institute under Grant [P50 CA095815; Principal Investigator: M. W. Kreuter] and the National Cancer Institute Cancer Center Support Grant to the Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri under Grant [P30 CA091842; Principal Investigator: T. Eberlein] for services provided by the Health Behavior, Communication and Outreach Core. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise. We thank our patient participants, the interviewers, and Ms. Lori Grove in Oncology Data Services at Washington University in St. Louis for assistance with data collection from the medical record. We also thank the physicians in addition to Dr. Margenthaler, who helped us recruit their patients for this study, including Drs. Timothy Eberlein, William Gillanders, Rebecca Aft, and Amy Cyr at Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine and Dr. Theresa Schwartz and Pam Hunborg, RN, at Saint Louis University School of Medicine. The CONSORT diagram (Supplemental Figure 1) was used with permission from the publisher, Oxford University Press.

Declaration Of Interest Statement

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise.

Supplementary Material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed on the publisher’s website.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Cancer Institute [P50 CA095815; Principal Investigator: M. W. Kreuter] and the National Cancer Institute Cancer Center Support Grant to the Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine [P30 CA091842; Principal Investigator: T. Eberlein] for services provided by the Health Behavior, Communication and Outreach Core.