Using a standard implementation science framework to improve clinical trial enrollment for a community Tennessee oncology center.

Abstract

e18586 Background: Recommendations for clinical trial consideration are ubiquitous across all cancers. However, it is challenging to identify patients from underrepresented communities and offer them opportunities to enroll in clinical trials due to a multitude of reasons including social determinants of care, distance from clinical resources, lack of resources, etc. As part of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) Influential Medicine Providing Access to Clinical Trials (IMPACT) study, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (Nashville, TN) partnered with Baptist Cancer Center (BCC, Memphis, TN) to improve accrual of trials for patients with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. BCC has an active NCI Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP) grant with 12 affiliated sites spread across Arkansas, Tennessee, and Mississippi and provides care for underrepresented minority, and underserved communities. Methods: We chose the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR), as a conceptual model to guide assessment of the existing process and inherent opportunities. We created a secure REDCap survey to identify timepoints in the existing clinician workflow and research sites that provide the best opportunities to discuss clinical trials with the patient. Retrospective data was collected for 67 patients diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, who received care at six sites affiliated with BCC. A manual chart review was performed to extract data from the electronic medical record. Results: We observed that 73% of the patients from 2 sites already had an established diagnosis of Hodgkin’s lymphoma at the time of referral to the medical oncologist. By contrast, only 33% of patients from the remaining 4 sites had an established diagnosis at the time of referral. In these cases, the diagnosis was established after pathological testing ordered by the oncologist was performed. Conclusions: Using our analysis, we identified 2 sites from a large healthcare network that would benefit greatest from implementing pre-screening for clinical trials before the first visit with a medical oncologist. Further, we determined that efforts/resources for trial screening at the remaining 4 sites would be best served after pathological evidence of disease was established. Clinical trial enrolment is a multi-step process and needs substantial human and financial resources. Implementation science interventions can help to guide judicious use of resources while improving patient care in rural and underserved communities.[Table: see text]