Faculty Collaboration Database

The association between cancer care coordination and quality of life is stronger for breast cancer patients with lower health literacy: A Greater Plains Collaborative study. Support Care Cancer 2020 Feb;28(2):887-895

Date

06/07/2019

Pubmed ID

31168710

Pubmed Central ID

PMC6893112

DOI

10.1007/s00520-019-04894-y

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-85067236293   2 Citations

Abstract

PURPOSE: Health literacy (HL) and cancer care coordination (CCC) were examined for their relationship to quality of life (QOL) among breast cancer survivors. CCC was hypothesized to have a stronger relationship to QOL for women with lower HL.

METHODS: Women (N = 1138) who had completed treatment for Stage 0-III, ductal carcinoma breast cancer between January 2013 and May 2014 at one of eight large medical centers responded to a mailed questionnaire. Responses to questions about survivorship care planning and presence of professional care coordinator were combined to form an index of CCC. An index of HL was also derived. QOL was measured using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast (FACT-B) scales.

RESULTS: 74.3% (N = 845) of patients reported having a health professional coordinate their care during treatment and 78.8% (N = 897) reported receiving survivorship care planning. CCC was classified as none, partial, or high for 7.1%, 32.7%, and 60.2% of the patients, respectively. Except for emotional well-being, the interaction between HL and CCC was significant for all QOL domains (p < .05); the effect of CCC on FACT-B scores was largest for people with lower HL. For the 39.8% of patients with less than high CCC, 111 (27.3%) had a level of HL associated with clinically meaningful lower QOL.

CONCLUSIONS: The association between CCC and later QOL is strongest for people who have lower HL. Prioritizing care coordination for patients with lower health literacy may be an effective strategy in a setting of limited resources.

Author List

McDowell BD, Klemp J, Blaes A, Cohee AA, Trentham-Dietz A, Kamaraju S, Otte JL, Mott SL, Chrischilles EA

Author

Sailaja Kamaraju MD Associate Professor in the Medicine department at Medical College of Wisconsin

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Breast Neoplasms
Cancer Survivors
Female
Health Literacy
Humans
Middle Aged
Quality of Life
Surveys and Questionnaires
Survivorship