Demographic predictors of successful transition to adult survivorship care for survivors of pediatric cancer.

Abstract

10050 Background: There is a growing number of childhood cancer survivors in the U.S. (Chow et al., 2020) who are at risk for experiencing negative long-term health outcomes (Oeffinger et al., 2006). Current guidelines state the importance of receiving risk-based follow-up at adult survivorship clinics, yet available estimates suggest that less than 50% of survivors receive yearly survivorship care (Landier et al., 2004; Daly et al., 2018). The transition from pediatric to adult care is a difficult process, with various factors acting as barriers (Devine et al., 2017). The present study sought to evaluate demographic predictors of successful transition to adult survivorship care in a Midwestern clinic serving a large urban and rural catchment area. Methods: The study includes adult survivors of childhood cancer (n = 203) who received pediatric or adult survivorship care in a Midwestern metropolitan area from 2015 to 2022. For this study, successful transition to adult care was defined as attending at least one appointment in the adult survivorship clinic. Dates of clinic attendance, cancer diagnosis, insurance data, and zip code were abstracted from the medical record. 86.2% of survivors had commercial insurance, 13.8% had government -sponsored insurance, self-pay or other insurance. Participant zip codes were 66.7% urban, 19.5% metropolitan (low and high commuting), 9.2% micropolitan, and 4.6% rural. Survivor ages ranged from 20 to 68 years (M = 29.48, SD = 7.74) and 53.2% were female. Participant-reported race/ethnicity was 90.1% White, 5.4% Hispanic, 3.4% Black and 1% Other. Results: 66% of the sample attended at least 1 appointment in the adult survivorship clinic. Chi-square analyses revealed a significant relationship between insurance type and attendance at the clinic, [Χ2(1) = 16.60, p < .001], such that a greater proportion of survivors with commercial insurance transitioned to adult survivorship care (71%), compared to government-assisted (Medicare), self-pay or other insurance (32%). Analyses revealed a significant relationship between rurality and transition, [Χ2(3) = 14.11, p < .01], such that a greater proportion of survivors from urban areas transitioned (74%) compared to rural areas (22%). Race/ethnicity, gender and cancer type were not significantly associated with transition. Conclusions: Results suggest that a lack of commercial insurance and rurality served as risk factors for not successfully transitioning to an adult survivorship clinic, highlighting opportunities for improvement in clinic reach.