Relationships between health literacy, having a cancer care coordinator, and long-term health-related quality of life among cancer survivors

Vecchio, Natalie J. Del; McDowell, Bradley D.; Carter, Knute D.; Askelson, Natoshia M.; Chrischilles, Elizabeth A.; Lynch, Charles F.; Charlton, Mary E.

doi:10.1007/s00520-021-06356-w

Cited by 8 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…[17][18][19] Health literacy is a particularly important issue for cancer patients who must navigate a complex health care system after being diagnosed with a potentially life-threatening condition. [17,20] Health literacy is based on skills of the individual patient and also on the communication skills of health care providers. [1] The investments that health care organizations make in reducing health literacy-related barriers within their systems also play a role.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[1,21] Having a care coordinator is also likely to be helpful. [20] Effective interventions to improve health literacy may include interventions to improve patientprovider communication or to develop skills in low literate people. [5] With respect to limitations, the results may not be generalizable to all cancer survivors in the United States because of the low response rate.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In general patient populations, low health literacy has been related to inadequate utilization of health care services, higher mortality, worse self-rated health, and poorer physical functioning [17–19] . Health literacy is a particularly important issue for cancer patients who must navigate a complex health care system after being diagnosed with a potentially life-threatening condition [17,20] …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Health literacy among cancer survivors

et al. 2022

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Health literacy is a set of knowledge and skills that enables individuals to obtain, communicate, process and understand information, and services to make appropriate health decisions and to successfully navigate the health care system. Health literacy is important to quality of cancer survivorship care and patient self-management of their disease.We examined health literacy among cancer survivors, using data from the 2016 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. We compared health literacy across various demographic and socioeconomic groups and estimated the adjusted odds in favor of low health literacy for these characteristics.We found that about 16% of the cancer survivors had low health literacy. The prevalence was higher among Hispanic and Black individuals, and among those with poor health status, low income and educational attainment.A sizeable percentage of cancer survivors have low health literacy which is likely to complicate their ability to self-manage their disease and navigate the health care system for optimal care. In order to ensure the quality and appropriateness of cancer survivorship care, effective interventions are needed to address low health literacy in these populations.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Health literacy among cancer survivors

et al. 2022

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“…Low health literacy among patients with cancer is associated with poor health and treatment outcomes, including lower adherence to treatment, and in the survivorship period with worse quality of life 32,33 . Of note, few of the studies included in the meta‐analyses cited above focused on underserved communities who may receive specific benefits from SCPs or improved care coordination that are not observed in populations with integrated health care or higher health literacy 33,34 . Given the resource requirements for SCP delivery, such as time, personnel, and cost, 18–20,35 especially in community oncology practices, 36 a more focused approach may be desirable where SCPs or telehealth‐delivered interventions are delivered to subsets of patients who will receive the most benefit.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feasibility of delivering survivorship care via lay health educators: A pilot randomized controlled trial among rural cancer survivors

Duggan

Cushing‐Haugen

Cole

et al. 2023

The Journal of Rural Health

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Purpose We tested the feasibility of survivorship care plan (SCP) delivery with/without a lay health educator (LHE) telephone‐delivered information session among rural cancer survivors, and their effects on health‐related self‐efficacy and knowledge of cancer history. Methods Randomized trial of cancer survivors from 3 rural oncology clinics featuring either SCP alone (control) or SCP plus LHE‐delivered information session (intervention). Participants completed a questionnaire on health‐related self‐efficacy and knowledge of cancer‐specific medical history. Responses were compared to medical records for accuracy. SCPs were then mailed to participants. Approximately 5 months later, participants completed a follow‐up questionnaire. A subset of participants took part in subsequent qualitative interviews about their study experience. Findings Of 301 survivors approached, 72 (23.9%) were randomized (mean age 66.4 years; 3.1 years from diagnosis; 62.5% female), and 65 (90.3%) completed the study. Global mental and physical health or self‐efficacy scores did not change significantly from baseline to follow‐up for either group. In exploratory analyses, self‐efficacy increased in participants with inadequate/marginal health literacy in the intervention arm (+0.7, 95% CI = 0.1‐1.2; P = .01). Accuracy of knowledge did not improve but was high at baseline (mean 76.0±14.5%). 60.1% and 48.4% of control and intervention participants, respectively, found SCPs definitely/somewhat useful. Qualitative data (n = 20) suggested that SCPs were helpful to patients when primary and oncology care were less integrated. Conclusions An LHE‐delivered informational session was feasible but had limited benefit to rural cancer survivors versus delivery of SCP alone but may be of benefit to patients with low health literacy or with less integrated care.

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“…There is a need for interventions such as adapting communication, information provision, and cancer care coordination to improve the quality of cancer care [ 37 ]. For instance, patients with low levels of literacy often have poorer health outcomes and poor access to information [ 38 ]. New methods to accessing information have emerged during the COVID-19 outbreak in Colombia, which has resulted in online and e-health programs, facilitating remote access to, which has the potential for expansion to facilitate the communication between clinicians and cancer patients to reduce health access barriers [ 39 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cancer as a Chronic Illness in Colombia: A Normative Consensus Approach to Improving Healthcare Services for those Living with and beyond Cancer and Its Treatment

et al. 2021

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Cancer survivorship care in Colombia is of increasing importance. International survivorship initiatives and studies show that continuing symptoms, psychological distress, and late effects impact the quality of life for survivors. Priorities for quality survivorship according to Colombian patients and clinicians are unknown. We undertook a nominal consensus approach with 24 participants using virtual meeting technology to identify the priorities for cancer survivorship. We applied an iterative approach conducted over eight weeks with five workshops and one patient focus group followed by a priority setting survey. The consensus group established six main themes, which were subsequently evaluated by experts: (i) symptoms and secondary effects of cancer; (ii) care coordination to increase patient access and integration of cancer care; (iii) psychosocial support after cancer treatment; (iv) mapping information resources and available support services for long-term cancer care; (v) identifying socioeconomic and regional inequalities in cancer survival to improve care and outcomes; and (vi) health promotion and encouraging lifestyle change. The order of priorities differed between clinicians and patients: patients mentioned psychosocial support as the number one priority, and clinicians prioritized symptoms and surveillance for cancer recurrence. Developing survivorship care needs consideration of both views, including barriers such as access to services and socioeconomic disparities.

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Relationships between health literacy, having a cancer care coordinator, and long-term health-related quality of life among cancer survivors

Cited by 8 publications

References 41 publications

Health literacy among cancer survivors

Health literacy among cancer survivors

Feasibility of delivering survivorship care via lay health educators: A pilot randomized controlled trial among rural cancer survivors

Cancer as a Chronic Illness in Colombia: A Normative Consensus Approach to Improving Healthcare Services for those Living with and beyond Cancer and Its Treatment

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