ASPO Abstracts
The Patient Cancer OUtreach, Navigation, Technology and Support (Patient COUNTS) Project: Developing a virtual patient navigation program for Asian American cancer patients
Category: Cancer Health Disparities
Conference Year: 2021
Abstract Body:
Purpose of study: Cancer is the leading cause of death among Asian Americans. Many Asian American cancer
patients do not receive appropriate treatment and little is known about their navigational needs. We report
baseline survey results of a pilot study that provides culturally- and linguistically-tailored in-person navigation for
Asian American cancer patients.
Methods: We recruited 26 adult Asian American patients with newly diagnosed, stage I-III colorectal, liver, or lung
cancer in San Francisco from hospitals and the regional cancer registry. Participants completed a baseline survey.
We assessed health-related quality of life (HRQOL) using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy: General
[FACT-G] questionnaire in addition to ongoing needs. We calculated descriptive statistics (means and standard
deviations for numeric variables; frequencies and percentages for categorical variables). The study is ongoing and
we will present changes in HRQOL status and needs during follow-up.
Results: The mean age of participants was 65 years old (SD 12, range 38 to 81), with 62% women. Participants
spoke Chinese (73%), Vietnamese (15%), or English (12%); 74% reported limited English proficiency. Most were
foreign-born (91%) and 71% had a high school education or less.
Forty-six percent of participants had lung, 35% colorectal, and 20% liver cancer. The FACT-G mean scores were:
physical well-being 20.1 out of 28 (SD 6.0); support well-being 20.2 out of 28 (SD 6.0); emotional well-being 16.8
out of 24 (SD 5.1); functional well-being 15.0 out of 28 (SD 7.0); total 71.8 out of 108 (SD 18.3). Participants
presented a variety of needs, with 83% requesting at least one type of assistance. Most wanted to learn more
about nutrition and physical activity (63%), medical interpretation (58%), and cancer information (diagnosis,
staging, and treatment options) (48%).
Discussion: In this sample of limited English proficient Asian American cancer patients, HRQOL was low (relative
to a sample of U.S. adult cancer patients) [Pearman 2014] and navigational needs were high. These results will
inform the next phase of the project to develop and implement a culturally- and linguistically-appropriate virtual
cancer navigation program to address needs among Asian Americans with cancer.
Keywords: Asian American, cancer disparities, patient navigation