Acceptance testing of a visual care navigation tool for patients, survivors, caregivers, nurses, and oncologists.

Abstract

552 Background: Cancer patients and family caregivers often describe the experience as a treacherous hike without access to a map, relevant gear, and a guide. Without the necessary tools, individuals are often overwhelmed and unable to participate in shared decision-making. On average, oncologists have ~24 minutes per patient to communicate the condition and upcoming activities. Sometimes, they make hand-drawn visuals to explain the sequence, duration, and decision points of the experience. Despite these efforts, 97% of individuals rely on Google to learn about their condition, often furthering “Cancer Information Overload” and non-evidence-based activities. A team of cancer survivors, cartographers, and oncologists developed a proprietary platform with interactive cancer maps and self-management tools to navigate treatment better. We tested the interactive product demo through a series of qualitative interviews. Methods: A convenience sample of individuals in four categories underwent a 30-minute virtual structured interview with both parties and the cancer map visible to each other. Interviewees (INTs) included breast cancer patients under treatment (Tx), survivors (S) on either surveillance or anti-hormone therapy, informal caregivers (CG), and health care providers (HCP), either oncologists (ONC) or advanced practice providers (APP). After informed consent, INTs were shown the product and asked 8 questions, including 5 open-ended, 1 prioritization, and 2 scoring questions. Sample sizes were chosen to reach theoretical saturation. Results: We conducted 33 interviews between April 1 and June 5th, 2023. The results are shown in the table. The self-management tools that were identified to be most useful included: Digital appointment notebook, symptom tracker, medication tracker, insurance management, nutrition plans, and legal templates. Conclusions: Cartographically represented maps of the cancer journey and the self-management tools appear to be acceptable to patients, survivors, and caregivers. The platform is acceptable to HCPs and is not perceived to increase work or the burden of explanations. APPs found value in the platform to create efficiency and enable easier education of patients and caregivers. The interactive platform can be shared to explain the journey, treatment duration, and potential side effects.[Table: see text]