Primary care provider perceptions of patient participation in a multi-cancer early detection trial.

Abstract

e13607 Background: Randomized clinical trials of multi-cancer early detection (MCED) tests are being planned, and primary care providers (PCPs) are likely to encounter patients who are considering participation. Little information has been reported about provider support for patient participation in such trials. Methods: We surveyed PCPs from 4 practices in a large health system to learn about their views on patient participation in a hypothetical MCED test trial. The PCPs received a link to view a patient-oriented infographic that described a trial in which participants would undergo serial blood draws for MCED testing and would be randomly assigned either to standard care or to receive MCED test results and follow-up, as needed. After viewing the infographic, respondents were asked to complete a brief survey that included statements related to factors that would affect their receptivity to patient participation in the trial, using a 5-point Likert type response scale that ranged from 1 = Strongly Disagree to 5 = Strongly Agree. The survey also included a single item that asked respondents if they would support patient participation in the trial and provided an opportunity to report the main reason for their answer. Finally, the survey contained a background characteristics section. We computed frequency distributions of survey responses. Results: Twenty-seven of 37 (73%) invited primary care providers completed the survey. About half of the respondents were women and two thirds were white; 81% were physicians while 19% were nurse practitioners, 54% were in practice for less than 20 years, all were board certified, and 74% had a hospital affiliation. Receptivity scores regarding a future MCED trial were high, with a mean of 3.8 and standard deviation of 0.6. Overall, 25 providers (93%) reported that they would support patient participation in an MCED test trial. The most commonly reported reasons for supporting patient participation were the belief that early cancer detection is important and the belief that research to develop new cancer screening tests is needed. The most commonly cited reasons for not supporting participation were concern about managing patients diagnosed with cancer in the trial and worry that trial participants would require too many practice resources. Conclusions: The overwhelming majority of respondents supported patient participation in an MCED test trial, but many were concerned about trial impact on their capacity to meet patient needs. Further research is needed in a larger study to validate these results and learn more about factors likely to influence PCP support for patient participation in MCED test trials and actual participation.