Perceptions of COVID-19 Risk: How Did People Adapt to the Novel Risk?

BACKGROUND

There is limited understanding of how risk perceptions changed as the US population gained experience with COVID-19. The objectives were to examine risk perceptions and determine the factors associated with risk perceptions and how these changed over the first 18 mo of the pandemic.

METHODS

Seven cross-sectional online surveys were fielded between May 2020 and October 2021. The study included a population-weighted sample of 138,303 US adults drawn from a market research platform, with an average 68% cooperation rate. Respondents' risk perception of developing COVID in the next 30 days was assessed at each time point. We examined relationships between 30-day risk perceptions and various factors (including sociodemographic features, health, COVID-19 experience, political affiliation, and psychological variables).

RESULTS

COVID risk perceptions were stable across the 2020 surveys and showed a significant decrease in the 2021 surveys. Several factors, including older age, worse health, high COVID worry, in-person employment type, higher income, Democratic political party affiliation (the relatively more liberal party in the United States), low tolerance of uncertainty, and high anxiety were strongly associated with higher 30-d risk perceptions in 2020. One notable change occurred in 2021, in that younger adults (aged 18-29 y) had significantly higher 30-d risk perceptions than older adults did (aged 65 y and older) after vaccination. Initial differences in perception by political party attenuated over time. Higher 30-d risk perceptions were significantly associated with engaging in preventive behaviors.

LIMITATIONS

Cross-sectional samples, risk perception item focused on incidence not severity.

CONCLUSIONS

COVID risk perceptions decreased over time. Understanding the longitudinal pattern of risk perceptions and the factors associated with 30-d risk perceptions over time provides valuable insights to guide public health communication campaigns.

HIGHLIGHTS

The study assessed COVID-19 risk perceptions at 7 time points over 18 mo of the pandemic in large samples of US adults.Risk perceptions were fairly stable until the introduction of vaccines in early 2021, at which point they showed a marked reduction.Higher COVID-19 30-d risk perceptions were significantly associated with the preventive behaviors of masking, limiting social contact, avoiding restaurants, and not entertaining visitors at home.

Strategies to increase the intention to get vaccinated against COVID-19: Findings from a nationally representative survey of US adults, October 2020 to October 2021

OBJECTIVES

We examined COVID-19 vaccination status, intention, and hesitancy and the effects of five strategies to increase the willingness of unvaccinated adults (≥18 years) to get a COVID vaccine.

METHODS

Online surveys were conducted between October 1-17, 2020 (N = 14,946), December 4-16, 2020 (N = 15,229), April 8-22, 2021 (N = 14,557), June 17-July 6, 2021 (N = 30,857), and September 3-October 4, 2021 (N = 33,088) with an internet-based, non-probability opt-in sample of U.S. adults matching demographic quotas. Respondents were asked about current COVID-19 vaccination status, intention and hesitancy to get vaccinated, and reasons for vaccine hesitancy. Unvaccinated respondents were assigned to treatment groups to test the effect of five strategies (endorsements, changing social restrictions, financial incentives, vaccine requirements for certain activities, and vaccine requirements for work). Chi-square tests of independence were performed to detect differences in the response distributions.

RESULTS

Willingness to be vaccinated (defined as being vaccinated or planning to be) increased over time from 47.6 % in October 2020 to 81.1 % in October 2021. By October 2021, across most demographic groups, over 75 % of survey respondents had been or planned to be vaccinated. In terms of strategies: (1) endorsements had no positive effect, (2) relaxing the need for masks and social distancing increased Intention to Get Vaccinated (IGV) by 6.4 % (p < 0.01), (3) offering financial incentives increased the IGV between 12.3 and 18.9 % (p <.001), (4) vaccine requirements for attending sporting events or traveling increased IGV by 7.8 % and 9.1 %, respectively (p = 0.02), and vaccine requirement for work increased IGV by 35.4 %. The leading causes (not mutually exclusive) for hesitancy were concerns regarding vaccine safety (52.5 %) or side effects (51.6 %), trust in the government's motives (41.0 %), and concerns about vaccine effectiveness (37.6 %).

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that multiple strategies may be effective and needed to increase COVID-19 vaccination among hesitant adults during the pandemic.

Change in breast cancer risk perception related to perceived COVID-19 risk: A WISDOM sub-population analysis

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Background: Obstacles to access to care due to the perceptions of the risk posed by COVID-19 have led to unprecedented disruptions in cancer care. Yet, little is understood about whether perceived COVID-19 risk influences perceptions of cancer risk. We examined how COVID-19 risk perception was associated with perceptions of breast cancer risk over one year of the pandemic among women enrolled in the WISDOM study, a PCORI-funded pragmatic trial testing risk-based cancer screening that began before the pandemic. Methods: We conducted four longitudinal surveys among the 13,002 women enrolled in the WISDOM study from May - December 2020. Responses from 8,285 women are eligible for inclusion in this analysis leading to a total sample size of 16,859 survey responses. Surveys were conducted online and asked women’s perceived lifetime chance of developing breast cancer (0-100%). COVID-19 risk perception was reported on a 5-point scale from Very Low to Very High. We computed the difference between breast cancer risk perception at each COVID-19 survey to pre-COVID breast cancer risk perception, measured as a secondary aim of the WISDOM study, and compared that to COVID-19 risk perception at each time point. Results: Across the four survey waves, most women perceived low COVID risk: 29% very low, 42% moderately low, 23% neither high nor low and 6% high or very high. Overall, breast cancer risk perception declined for those with very low COVID-19 risk perception and rose for women in the highest levels of COVID-19 risk perception. However, changes in breast cancer risk perception associated with COVID risk perception were small. For example, in survey wave 4, breast cancer risk change was -2.4% very low, -1.4% low, 2.5% not high or low and 3.1% high or very high. (Table). Conclusions: Among women participating in a pragmatic trial testing risk-based cancer screening, COVID risk perception had a small relationship with change in breast cancer risk perception. Change in breast cancer risk perception paralleled COVID-19 risk perception. This calls for exploration of the underpinnings of these risk changes and may have implications for changes in cancer screening behavior related to COVID-19.[Table: see text]

Abstract P5-19-04: The WISDOM study: Reducing sequential steps and implementing parallel workflows in pragmatic trials

Background:The WISDOM Study is a preference-tolerant pragmatic study, comparing annual mammograms to a risk-based screening. Eligibility includes women ages 40-74 years with no history of breast cancer or DCIS. Participants are enrolled to one study arm: annual screening or risk-based screening (includes genetic testing). Pragmatic trials often involve gathering real-time data over multiple time points. Collecting real-time data sequentially can limit enrollment, delay study assignments, and reduce participant engagement. The WISDOM Study has identified such bottlenecks and has implemented parallel workflows, reducing the overall wait time for participants to complete required study steps. These data highlight how moving participants through the study more efficiently can improve enrollment and retention and inform other pragmatic trials. Methods: WISDOM participants have the option to either choose their study arm or be randomized into one as part of the preference tolerant randomized trial design. Participants then complete breast health questionnaires and genetic testing (if in the risk-based arm). This information is analyzed by the WISDOM breast cancer risk assessment algorithm, the result of which is then communicated to the participant through a screening assignment letter (SAL). Specific data elements, such as breast density found participants’ mammogram reports and genetic testing results are required for study randomization process and risk assessment calculations, respectively. The WISDOM randomization algorithm is stratified by several factors, including breast cancer risk estimated using the Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium (BCSC) model, which uses mammographic density as a key input variable. The study team changed the workflow to allow participants to proceed to randomization without specific information by imputing both density and risk. Additionally, a parallel workflow improvement process was implemented to obtain mammogram reports while genetic testing was being completed. Results: Before the weighted BCSC and imputed density algorithms were introduced, it took an average of 47 days to randomize participants after completion of the baseline enrollment questionnaires. Now, participants are randomized immediately which has reduced delays by 100%. Prior to implementing the parallel workflow for genetic testing and mammogram ascertainment, genetic testing kits were sent only after mammogram reports were collected and validated. The expected turnaround time for genetic testing results was 30-60 days and on average, results were returned to participants in 42 days. Streamlining the study design to obtain mammogram reports while participants complete their genetic testing has shortened the time for participants to receive their screening assignment letters (SALs) from an average of 160 days to 78 days, a reduction by 49%. In comparison, participants in the annual arm of the study who do not complete genetic testing, receive their SALs after an average of 38 days from enrollment. This is due to long wait times to obtain mammographic densities from outside medical facilities. Conclusions: Creating parallel data ascertainment workflows and reducing sequential steps in the study process has increased completion of individual enrollment activities. Participants now are randomized immediately upon joining the study and have access to their SALs and genetic results more rapidly. This approach eliminated randomization wait times and improved efficiency of the early in the enrollment process. We are evaluating the impact on participant retention going forward. Workflow efficiency is critical to improve the patient experience, and our learnings can inform future trial design, particularly for studies requiring data from outside sources.

Citation Format: Tomiyuri Lewis, Stephanie Flores, Leah Sabacan, Patricia Choy, Halle Thannickal, Yiwey Shieh, Jeffrey Tice, Elad Ziv, Lisa Madlensky, Martin Eklund, Christina Yau, Amie Blanco, Barry Tong, Deborah Goodman, Nancy Anderson, Heather Harvey, Steele Fors, Hannah L Park, Samrrah Raouf, Skye Stewart, Janet Wernisch, Barbara Koenig, Celia Kaplan, Robert Hiatt, Neil Wenger, Vivian Lee, Diane Heditsian, Susie Brain, Dolores Moorehead, Barbara A Parker, Alexander Borowsky, Hoda Anton-Culver, Arash Naeim, Andrea Kaster, Laura van ‘t Veer, Andrea Z LaCroix, Olufunmilayo I Olopade, Deepa Sheth, Agustin Garcia, Rachel Lancaster, Michael Plaza, Wisdom Study, Athena Breast Health Network Investigators, Advocate Partners, Allison S Fiscalini, Laura Esserman. The WISDOM study: Reducing sequential steps and implementing parallel workflows in pragmatic trials [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2021 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2021 Dec 7-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P5-19-04.

Abstract P5-19-01: The impact of streamlined processes and patient-directed messaging to improve enrollment in a remote, pragmatic clinical trial

Background Recent advances in technology have made it possible to conduct remote clinical trials that allow individuals to participate from home with comfort, privacy, and ease. Despite these advances, challenges persist in running remote trials, such as survey question redundancies, lack of patient-initiated data-sharing tools, and unclear patient communication around critical enrollment steps. The Women Informed to Screen Depending on Measures of risk (WISDOM) Study is a pragmatic, preference-tolerant randomized control breast cancer screening trial comparing personalized risk-based screening to traditional, annual screening. The study population includes women ages 40-74 without a history of breast cancer or DCIS. Since 2016, study enrollment has been available to all women in the U.S. who meet study eligibility criteria. Since October 2020, WISDOM has implemented multiple strategies to improve participant experience: participant-initiated data-sharing tools and clear participant messaging. This abstract presents the efficacy of these interventions as they relate to increasing patient enrollment in remote, pragmatic clinical trials. Methods The WISDOM Study online enrollment process includes registration, participant study arm selection or randomization, online consent, and enrollment (submission of multiple study surveys over a secure, online platform). Barriers to online enrollment were uncovered through an internally-conducted needs assessment of participants who enrolled between 2019-2020, and participant feedback obtained through phone interviews conducted by WISDOM’s embedded ethics study. Improvements to our online enrollment procedures were executed in October 2020 and included: improving the clarity of study arm selection options, streamlining data collection surveys, and enacting a secure, patient-initiated online data-sharing tool and an online portal feature with auto-launch of critical information. Study metrics were obtained through Google Analytics and Salesforce. Results Prior to the end of 2020, only 62% of the 30,046 participants who registered for the WISDOM Study completed study enrollment. After improving the enrollment process, of the 5,334 participants registered for the study between Jan-June 2021, 69% completed the enrollment process finishing both the online consent and survey forms. Conversion from consent to enrollment went from 78% in January 2020 to 93% in June 2021. Currently, 56% participants complete enrollment in one day. Streamlining online patient questionnaires led to an increase in completion rates, with 75% of participants completing their yearly surveys, compared to 59% prior to April 2021. A secure patient upload feature for data sharing led to 1,054 participants successfully sharing their mammogram reports with WISDOM between March - June 2021. Previously, mammogram reports were missing for 20% of enrolled participants. This feature has enabled WISDOM to process 300 additional mammogram reports per month. Integration of an auto-launch feature in the participant’s portal in Feb 2021 has led to a 17% increase in participants viewing their screening recommendations in Yr 1. Prior to auto-launch, only 59% (n=6328) of Yr 1 screening recommendations and 61% (n=3681) of genetic testing reports were viewed by participants. Since implementation, the numbers increased to 78% (n=8406) and 85% (n=5160), respectively. Conclusions. Streamlining data to the most essential elements, and minimizing the steps required to share clinical documents, complete questionnaires and open key study notification is essential to improving enrollment rates in virtual, pragmatic trials. Patient-initiated data-sharing tools such as the ability for participants to share documents through secure, online portals is one example of success.

Citation Format: Patricia Choy, Tomiyuri Lewis, Stephanie Flores, Leah Sabacan, Halle Thannickal, Steffanie Goodman, Yiwey Shieh, Lisa Madlensky, Jeffrey A. Tice, Elad Ziv, Martin Eklund, Amie Blanco, Barry Tong, Deborah Goodman, Nancy Anderson, Heather Harvey, Steele Fors, Hannah Lui Park, Antonia Petruse, Skye Stewart, Samrrah Raouf, Janet Wernisch, Barbara Koenig, Celia Kaplan, Robert Hiatt, Neil Wenger, Vivian Lee, Diane Heditsian, Susie Brain, Dolores Moorehead, Barbara A Parker, Alexander Borowsky, Hoda Anton-Culver, Arash Naeim, Andrea Kaster, Laura van 't Veer, Andrea Z LaCroix, Olufunmilayo I. Olopade, Deepa Sheth, Agustin Garcia, Rachel Lancaster, Jennifer James, Galen Joseph, Wisdom Study, Athena Breast Health Network Investigators and Advocates, Allison Stover Fiscallini, Laura Esserman. The impact of streamlined processes and patient-directed messaging to improve enrollment in a remote, pragmatic clinical trial [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2021 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2021 Dec 7-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P5-19-01.

Depressive Symptoms and Anxiety During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Large, Longitudinal, Cross-sectional Survey

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic has influenced the mental health of millions across the globe. Understanding factors associated with depressive symptoms and anxiety across 12 months of the pandemic can help identify groups at higher risk and psychological processes that can be targeted to mitigate the long-term mental health impact of the pandemic.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to determine sociodemographic features, COVID-19-specific factors, and general psychological variables associated with depressive symptoms and anxiety over 12 months of the pandemic.

METHODS

Nationwide, cross-sectional electronic surveys were implemented in May (n=14,636), July (n=14,936), October (n=14,946), and December (n=15,265) 2020 and March/April 2021 (n=14,557) in the United States. Survey results were weighted to be representative of the US population. The samples were drawn from a market research platform, with a 69% cooperation rate. Surveys assessed depressive symptoms in the past 2 weeks and anxiety in the past week, as well as sociodemographic features; COVID-19 restriction stress, worry, perceived risk, coping strategies, and exposure; intolerance of uncertainty; and loneliness.

RESULTS

Across 12 months, an average of 24% of respondents reported moderate-to-severe depressive symptoms and 32% reported moderate-to-severe anxiety. Of the sociodemographic variables, age was most consistently associated with depressive symptoms and anxiety, with younger adults more likely to report higher levels of those outcomes. Intolerance of uncertainty and loneliness were consistently and strongly associated with the outcomes. Of the COVID-19-specific variables, stress from COVID-19 restrictions, worry about COVID-19, coping behaviors, and having COVID-19 were associated with a higher likelihood of depressive symptoms and anxiety.

CONCLUSIONS

Depressive symptoms and anxiety were high in younger adults, adults who reported restriction stress or worry about COVID-19 or who had had COVID-19, and those with intolerance of uncertainty and loneliness. Symptom monitoring as well as early and accessible intervention are recommended.

An Integrated, Scalable, Electronic Video Consent Process to Power Precision Health Research: Large, Population-Based, Cohort Implementation and Scalability Study

BACKGROUND

Obtaining explicit consent from patients to use their remnant biological samples and deidentified clinical data for research is essential for advancing precision medicine.

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to describe the operational implementation and scalability of an electronic universal consent process that was used to power an institutional precision health biobank across a large academic health system.

METHODS

The University of California, Los Angeles, implemented the use of innovative electronic consent videos as the primary recruitment tool for precision health research. The consent videos targeted patients aged ≥18 years across ambulatory clinical laboratories, perioperative settings, and hospital settings. Each of these major areas had slightly different workflows and patient populations. Sociodemographic information, comorbidity data, health utilization data (ambulatory visits, emergency room visits, and hospital admissions), and consent decision data were collected.

RESULTS

The consenting approach proved scalable across 22 clinical sites (hospital and ambulatory settings). Over 40,000 participants completed the consent process at a rate of 800 to 1000 patients per week over a 2-year time period. Participants were representative of the adult University of California, Los Angeles, Health population. The opt-in rates in the perioperative (16,500/22,519, 73.3%) and ambulatory clinics (2308/3390, 68.1%) were higher than those in clinical laboratories (7506/14,235, 52.7%; P<.001). Patients with higher medical acuity were more likely to opt in. The multivariate analyses showed that African American (odds ratio [OR] 0.53, 95% CI 0.49-0.58; P<.001), Asian (OR 0.72, 95% CI 0.68-0.77; P<.001), and multiple-race populations (OR 0.73, 95% CI 0.69-0.77; P<.001) were less likely to participate than White individuals.

CONCLUSIONS

This is one of the few large-scale, electronic video-based consent implementation programs that reports a 65.5% (26,314/40,144) average overall opt-in rate across a large academic health system. This rate is higher than those previously reported for email (3.6%) and electronic biobank (50%) informed consent rates. This study demonstrates a scalable recruitment approach for population health research.

Electronic Video Consent to Power Precision Health Research: A Pilot Cohort Study

BACKGROUND

Developing innovative, efficient, and institutionally scalable biospecimen consent for remnant tissue that meets the National Institutes of Health consent guidelines for genomic and molecular analysis is essential for precision medicine efforts in cancer.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to pilot-test an electronic video consent that individuals could complete largely on their own.

METHODS

The University of California, Los Angeles developed a video consenting approach designed to be comprehensive yet fast (around 5 minutes) for providing universal consent for remnant biospecimen collection for research. The approach was piloted in 175 patients who were coming in for routine services in laboratory medicine, radiology, oncology, and hospital admissions. The pilot yielded 164 completed postconsent surveys. The pilot assessed the usefulness, ease, and trustworthiness of the video consent. In addition, we explored drivers for opting in or opting out.

RESULTS

The pilot demonstrated that the electronic video consent was well received by patients, with high scores for usefulness, ease, and trustworthiness even among patients that opted out of participation. The revised more animated video pilot test in phase 2 was better received in terms of ease of use (P=.005) and the ability to understand the information (P<.001). There were significant differences between those who opted in and opted out in their beliefs concerning the usefulness of tissue, trusting researchers, the importance of contributing to science, and privacy risk (P<.001). The results showed that "I trust researchers to use leftover biological specimens to promote the public's health" and "Sharing a biological sample for research is safe because of the privacy protections in place" discriminated opt-in statuses were the strongest predictors (both areas under the curve were 0.88). Privacy concerns seemed universal in individuals who opted out.

CONCLUSIONS

Efforts to better educate the community may be needed to help overcome some of the barriers in engaging individuals to participate in precision health initiatives.

Effects of Age, Gender, Health Status, and Political Party on COVID-19-Related Concerns and Prevention Behaviors: Results of a Large, Longitudinal Cross-sectional Survey

Background

With conflicting information about COVID-19, the general public may be uncertain about how to proceed in terms of precautionary behavior and decisions about whether to return to activity.

Objective

The aim of this study is to determine the factors associated with COVID-19–related concerns, precautionary behaviors, and willingness to return to activity.

Methods

National survey data were obtained from the Democracy Fund + UCLA Nationscape Project, an ongoing cross-sectional weekly survey. The sample was provided by Lucid, a web-based market research platform. Three outcomes were evaluated: (1) COVID-19–related concerns, (2) precautionary behaviors, and (3) willingness to return to activity. Key independent variables included age, gender, race or ethnicity, education, household income, political party support, religion, news consumption, number of medication prescriptions, perceived COVID-19 status, and timing of peak COVID-19 infections by state.

Results

The data included 125,508 responses from web-based surveys conducted over 20 consecutive weeks during the COVID-19 pandemic (comprising approximately 6250 adults per week), between March 19 and August 5, 2020, approved by the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Institutional Review Board for analysis. A substantial number of participants were not willing to return to activity even after the restrictions were lifted. Weighted multivariate logistic regressions indicated the following groups had different outcomes (all P<.001): individuals aged ≥65 years (COVID-19–related concerns: OR 2.05, 95% CI 1.93-2.18; precautionary behaviors: OR 2.38, 95% CI 2.02-2.80; return to activity: OR 0.41, 95% CI 0.37-0.46 vs 18-40 years); men (COVID-19–related concerns: OR 0.73, 95% CI 0.70-0.75; precautionary behaviors: OR 0.74, 95% CI 0.67-0.81; return to activity: OR 2.00, 95% CI 1.88-2.12 vs women); taking ≥4 medications (COVID-19–related concerns: OR 1.47, 95% CI 1.40-1.54; precautionary behaviors: OR 1.36, 95% CI 1.20-1.555; return to activity: OR 0.75, 95% CI 0.69-0.81 vs <3 medications); Republicans (COVID-19–related concerns: OR 0.40, 95% CI 0.38-0.42; precautionary behaviors: OR 0.45, 95% CI 0.40-0.50; return to activity: OR 2.22, 95% CI 2.09-2.36 vs Democrats); and adults who reported having COVID-19 (COVID-19–related concerns: OR 1.24, 95% CI 1.12-1.39; precautionary behaviors: OR 0.65, 95% CI 0.52-0.81; return to activity: OR 3.99, 95% CI 3.48-4.58 vs those who did not).

Conclusions

Participants’ age, party affiliation, and perceived COVID-19 status were strongly associated with their COVID-19–related concerns, precautionary behaviors, and willingness to return to activity. Future studies need to develop and test targeted messaging approaches and consider political partisanship to encourage preventative behaviors and willingness to return to activities.

Abstract SS2-04: Health maintenance and breast cancer screening during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background: WISDOM is a large (target enrollment&gt;40,000) healthy women preference-tolerant, pragmatic study comparing traditional annual screening to personalized risk-based breast screening. Cancer screening, routine health care, and elective procedures were disrupted due to attempts to manage resources during the COVID-19 pandemic. Understanding of the impact on COVID-19 on trial participants is important to gain a broader understanding of the effect of the pandemic on healthcare activities. Methods: Women aged 40-74 years with no history of breast cancer or DCIS, and no previous double mastectomy can join the WISDOM (NCT02620852) study online at wisdomstudy.org. A total of 28,600 women have consented to participate. As part of the trial, each patient completes a baseline and interval surveys through a Salesforce platform. In May, the study IRB was amended to add a COVID specific survey with questions related to participants COVID risk perceptions, coexisting conditions, and receipt of healthcare services in the 2 months prior to the survey. An initial survey was sent May 2020, with follow-up surveys planned every 2 months. In addition, national surveys on a population-based cross section of individuals across the nation will be performed in parallel. Data was collected, de-identified, and then analyzed using basic descriptive analysis, chi-2 analysis, and logit regression. Results: A total of 7,523 individuals in WISDOM responded to the survey (response rate 27%). Of those that responded, the average age at the time of the survey was 59 (range 40-79). The population was 87% Caucasian, 6% Hispanic, and 4% African-American. Only 3.6% of the sample felt they had COVID-19 either by symptoms or through testing. However, 10.0% felt they were at higher risk compared to similar individuals their age to get COVID-19. Of the sample, 29% had some form of high-risk coexisting condition that put them at higher risk for COVID-19. In terms of healthcare utilization in the prior 2 months, 43% had a routine medical visit cancelled by their primary care provider or health system, whereas 26% cancelled an appointment themselves. In terms of breast cancer screening, 16% had their screening visit either cancelled or delayed. Individuals who believed they were at higher risk (and more likely to have shorter interval screening recommendations on this trial) had a higher Odds Ratio (1.66) for a screening cancellation (p&lt;0.001). Those individuals who held the belief that COVID-19 was no more dangerous than the seasonal flu were more likely to have medical visits and routine care in the preceding 2 months than those that did not share that belief. (OR 1.18, p=0.032). Individuals were significantly more worried about COVID-19 than developing breast cancer (43% moderate to severely worried about COVID compared to 8.2% for breast cancer). Those worried about COVID were more likely to have screening cancellation (OR 1.18, P&lt;0.001) and those more worried about breast cancer were less likely to have a screening cancellation (OR. 0.83, P&lt;0.001). Conclusions: Health maintenance, prevention, and specifically breast cancer screening are important, but these health activities have been significantly disrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Given that the pandemic will likely continue for many months until there is either a vaccine, treatment, or herd immunity, it will be important to define the drivers and messages (healthcare and screening) to ensure patients receive proper health maintenance and prevention to reduce the risks associated with other diseases that are not COVID-19. The preliminary data presented as part of this abstract submission are the early results of an effort to develop a predictive model and targeted strategies for communication and intervention for cancer screening during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Citation Format: Arash Naeim, Neil Wenger, Karen Sepucha, Annette Stanton, Ryan Baxter-King, Leah Sabacan, Antonia Petruse, Patricia Choy, Susie Brain, Laura Esserman, Wisdom Study and Athena Breast Health Network Investigators and Advocate Partners, Lynn Vavreck. Health maintenance and breast cancer screening during the COVID-19 pandemic [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2020 San Antonio Breast Cancer Virtual Symposium; 2020 Dec 8-11; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(4 Suppl):Abstract nr SS2-04.

Abstract OT-21-01: Personalized breast cancer screening in a population-based study: Women informed to screen depending on measures of risk (WISDOM)

Background: WISDOM is a 100,000 healthy women preference-tolerant, pragmatic study comparing traditional annual screening to personalized risk-based breast screening. The novelty of WISDOM personalized screening is the integration of previously validated genetic and clinical risk factors (age, family history, breast biopsy results, ethnicity, mammographic density) into a single risk assessment model that directs the starting age, timing, and frequency of screening. The goal of WISDOM is to determine if personalized screening, compared to annual screening, is as safe, less morbid, enables prevention, and is more accepted by women. The study is registered on ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02620852. Methods: Women aged 40-74 years with no history of breast cancer, DCIS or previous double mastectomy can join the study online at wisdomstudy.org. Participants can either elect randomization or self-select a study arm. Then, they provide electronic consent and sign the Release for Medical Information via DocuSign. For all participants, 5-year risk of developing breast cancer is calculated according to the Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium (BCSC) model. Participants in the personalized arm undergo panel-based mutation testing (BRCA1, BRCA2, TP53, PTEN, STK11, CDH1, ATM, PALB2, and CHEK2), and their 5-year risk is calculated using the BCSC score combined with a Polygenic Risk Score (BCSC-PRS) that includes 229 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) known to increase breast cancer risk. The SNPs and mutations are assessed by saliva-based testing through Color Genomics. Five-year risk level thresholds are used to stratify participants as low-, moderate- and high risk. Risk stratification determines age to start, stop, and frequency of screening in the personalized arm. Accrual: As of July 2020 the WISDOM Study is open to all eligible women in the United States. To date, 38,762 eligible women have registered, and 28,706 women have consented to participate in the trial. The median age is 56 years. Seventy-seven percent of participants are Caucasian, 2% African-American, 5% Asian, and 8% of self-reported Hispanic ethnicity. WISDOM is partnering with Blue Cross Blue Shield Association for regional plan opt-in coverage, self-insured companies (Salesforce, Genentech, Qualcomm, CalPERS) and Medi-Cal (Inland Empire Health Plan) using a coverage with evidence progression approach. Accrual expansion and diversity: To ensure that resulting data are meaningful and potentially practice-changing for all populations of women, the WISDOM Study is enhancing the diversity of our participant population by establishing WISDOM sites in diverse areas with large African-American (Alabama, Louisiana, Illinois) and Latina (Florida) populations. These new recruitment sites, intentionally selected for the diverse communities they serve, have established partnerships with community organizations and outreach navigators. Additionally, we have translated the WISDOM Study to Spanish to facilitate access by Latina communities. With the engagement of patient advocates and community partnerships, expanding diversity in the study population will strengthen our scientific knowledge of breast cancer risk and improve access to personalized breast cancer screening recommendations for all women. Enrollment will continue through 2022. Conclusions: Results of 5 years follow-up will enable us to demonstrate whether personalized screening improves outcomes for future patients and it improves healthcare value by reducing screen volumes and costs without jeopardizing outcomes.

Citation Format: Irene Acerbi, Allison Stover Fiscalini, Mandy Che, Yiwey Shieh, Lisa Madlensky, Jeffrey Tice, Elad Ziv, Martin Eklund, Amie Blanco, Barry Tong, Deborah Goodman, Lamees Nassereddine, Nancy Anderson, Heather Harvey, Steele Fors, Hannah L Park, Antonia Petruse, Skye Stewart, Janet Wernisch, Larissa Risty, Ian Hurley, Barbara Koenig, Celia Kaplan, Robert Hiatt, Neil Wenger, Vivian Lee, Diane Heditsian, Susie Brain, Leah Sabacan, Tianyi Wang, Barbara A Parker, Alexander Borowsky, Hoda Anton-Culver, Arash Naeim, Andrea Kaster, Melinda Talley, Laura van 't Veer, Andrea Z LaCroix, Olufunmilayo I Olopade, Deepa Sheth, Augustin Garcia, Rachel Lancaster, Wisdom Study and Athena Breast Health Network Investigators and Advocate Partners, Laura Esserman. Personalized breast cancer screening in a population-based study: Women informed to screen depending on measures of risk (WISDOM) [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2020 San Antonio Breast Cancer Virtual Symposium; 2020 Dec 8-11; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(4 Suppl):Abstract nr OT-21-01.

Abstract OT-22-01: Opportunities and lessons learned in using electronic health record patient portal (MyChart) for recruitment to the population-based WISDOM study

Background: WISDOM is a preference-tolerant, pragmatic study comparing annual mammogram screening to personalized, risk-based breast screening in healthy women with a target accrual of 100,000. This sizable recruitment goal requires creative and broad-based strategies that are not typical for traditional clinical research. One of the recruitment methods is use of an electronic health record patient portal (Epic’s MyChart) to invite patients to participate in research. We tested various MyChart implementation strategies across WISDOM recruitment sites and report response rates, barriers and lessons learned. The study is registered on ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02620852. Methods: Women aged 40-74 years with no history of breast cancer, DCIS, or double mastectomy can join the WISDOM Study online at wisdomstudy.org. Participants either elect to be randomized or self-select one of the study arms, the control (annual mammogram screening) arm or the treatment (personalized, risk-based breast screening) arm. All study steps can be completed electronically, with no requirement to travel to a study site. University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) was the first WISDOM site to gain approval to use MyChart as a recruitment tool as part of the Clinical Translational Science Institute pilot in Spring 2018. The pilot was designed to demonstrate feasibility, patient response, and recruitment metrics. Following UCLA’s pilot, additional WISDOM sites received approval to use MyChart; however, implementation differed across sites based on local medical center leadership decisions. MyChart Implementation: As of July 2020, use of MyChart is ongoing at five of WISDOM’s six initial recruitment sites (UCLA, Sanford Health, UCSF, UCSD, UCI). Three sites (UCLA, Stanford, and UCSF) implemented MyChart broadly, and two sites (UCI and UCSD) are phasing in MyChart recruitment. UCLA and Sanford Health implemented MyChart recruitment through a centralized approach targeting all eligible patients and sending a MyChart invitation with a link to the study’s enrollment website. UCSF was approved to send WISDOM information on the MyChart portal, but the patients must opt in to learn more by outreach from a research coordinator. UCSD and UCI approaches are more limited requiring departmental or primary care provider approval for communications to be sent to patients. Results: MyChart enabled direct communication to a large number of potential study participants at UCLA and Sanford Health (UCLA 107,829, Sanford Health 86,684) during a 12-month period. The experiences of both sites were similar in that 50% of individuals read the MyChart message, 2.5-5% registered for additional information, and 1.5-2.5% consented to participate. UCSF’s implementation approach was similar with 8005 individuals invited, 6.6% indicating interest to participate, and 2.4% consenting. Although the number of consented participants represented a small portion of the total women consented to join the study to date, the recruitment rates from using MyChart were 2.5-10X higher compared to sites that did not use it or were in pilot phase. Participating sites saw 30%-50% increased recruitment rates during periods when MyChart messages were in use. Implementations at the departmental (UCSD) and primary care provider level (UCI) demonstrated similar trends (3.8% and 3% consented respectively), albeit with smaller samples. Conclusions: Use of electronic health record patient portal (MyChart) recruitment for the WISDOM Study increased enrollment rate by site and is a cost-effective approach to recruiting for large scale trials with broad eligibility criteria like the WISDOM Study.

Citation Format: Antonio Petruse, Alyssa Rocha, Liliana Johansen, Neil Wenger, Mandy Che, Steele Fors, Hannah L Park, Janet Wernisch, Irene Acerbi, Allison S Fiscalini, Jasmin Hassam, Andrea LaCroix, Barbara Parker, Lisa Madlensky, Laura Van't Veer, Celia Kaplan, Hoda Anton-Culver, Andrea Kaster, Skye Stewart, Samrrah Rouf, Alexander Borowsky, Ian Hurley, Robert Hiatt, Vivian Lee, Diane Heditsian, Susie Brain, Olufunmilayo Olopade, Deepa Sheth, Laura Esserman, Wisdom Study and Athena Breast Health Network Investigators and Advocate Partners, Arash Naeim. Opportunities and lessons learned in using electronic health record patient portal (MyChart) for recruitment to the population-based WISDOM study [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2020 San Antonio Breast Cancer Virtual Symposium; 2020 Dec 8-11; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(4 Suppl):Abstract nr OT-22-01.

Abstract PO-023: Impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on medical oncology utilization at a busy urban academic medical center

Background: The unprecedented global pandemic of Covid-19 caused major shifts in medical care throughout the world. Because chemotherapy delays have been shown to lead to worse outcomes, one of the foremost challenges for health care systems during this crisis was maintaining uninterrupted care for patients with cancer.

Methods: The Division of Hematology-Oncology at UCLA Health has 56 medical oncologists working at 17 community practices. Using scheduling data stored within our electronic medical record, we defined three distinct periods related to the intensity of precautions related to the COVID-19 pandemic in LA county; 2/3/20-3/15/20 was before stay-at-home orders were announced (baseline), 3/16/20-5/8/20 was during a period of the strict stay-at-home order, and 5/9/20-6/5/20 was during a period of reopening in the new COVID era.

Results: In the baseline period, UCLA Health had an average of 4,555 total patient encounters per week, 0% of which were telemedicine encounters (TE). During the strict stay-at-home period, visits dropped to 3,728 per week (an 18% absolute decrease) and an average of 472 (13%) were TE each week. Since reopening was initiated, visits have increased to an average of 4,433 patient encounters per week (97% of baseline), with 516 (14%) TE per week. In the baseline period, UCLA Health had an average of 115 infusion cancellations per day with 51% being patient initiated, 35% physician initiated, and 14% for other reasons (i.e., patient hospitalizations, treatment plan changes, or deaths). During the period of strict stay-at-home orders, cancellations increased from 115 to 133 per day (16% increase), with 47% being patient initiated, 41% being physician initiated, and 12% for other reasons. Since reopening began, UCLA Health has had an average of 98 infusion cancellations per day with 47% being patient initiated, 37% being physician initiated, and 16% for other reasons.

Conclusion: The Covid-19 pandemic led to a significant decrease in patient encounter volume and an uptick in chemotherapy infusion cancellations. Future study will be needed to examine the effect of this on patient outcomes. Compared to national statistics of changes in patient encounter volume, oncology fared better than most other specialties, particularly procedural specialties. Upon reopening, there appears to be a rapid return to baseline patient encounter volumes and fewer chemotherapy cancellations per day. The pandemic appears to have spurred an increase in the use of telemedicine in medical oncology, previously not utilized by medical oncologists at UCLA Health, as an important adaptation to maintain continuity of care. This trend has continued even after reopening. Alternative visit models, such as telemedicine, hold promise for ensuring patient-centered continuity care in this critical patient population.

Citation Format: Sidharth Anand, Anne Walling, Neil Wenger, Katrina Fischer, Lisset Huerta-Cruz, Lisa Wilen, John Glaspy. Impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on medical oncology utilization at a busy urban academic medical center [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Virtual Meeting: COVID-19 and Cancer; 2020 Jul 20-22. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2020;26(18_Suppl):Abstract nr PO-023.

Measure Scan and Synthesis of Palliative and End-of-Life Process Quality Measures for Advanced Cancer

PURPOSE

Monitoring and improving the quality of palliative and end-of-life cancer care remain pressing needs in the United States. Among existing measures that assess the quality of palliative and end-of-life care, many operationalize similar concepts. We identified existing palliative care process measures and synthesized these measures to aid stakeholder prioritization that will facilitate health system implementation in patients with advanced cancer.

METHODS

We reviewed MEDLINE/PubMed-indexed articles for process quality measures related to palliative and end-of-life care for patients with advanced cancer, supplemented by expert input. Measures were inductively grouped into "measure concepts" and higher-level groups.

RESULTS

Literature review identified 226 unique measures from 23 measure sources, which we grouped into 64 measure concepts within 12 groups. Groups were advance care planning (11 measure concepts), pain (7), dyspnea (9), palliative care-specific issues (6), other specific symptoms (17), comprehensive assessment (2), symptom assessment (1), hospice/palliative care referral (1), spiritual care (2), mental health (5), information provision (2), and culturally appropriate care (1).

CONCLUSION

Measure concepts covered the spectrum of care from acute symptom management to advance care planning and psychosocial needs, with variability in the number of measure concepts per group. This taxonomy of process quality measure concepts can be used by health systems seeking stakeholder input to prioritize targets for improving palliative and end-of-life care quality in patients with advanced cancer.

The Association Between Hospital Occupancy and Mortality Among Medicare Patients

BACKGROUND

Hospital crowding is a major challenge facing US health care systems, but few studies have evaluated the association between inpatient occupancy and patient mortality. The objective of this study was to determine how increasing hospital occupancy is associated with the likelihood of inpatient and 30-day out-of-hospital mortality using a novel measure of inpatient occupancy.

METHODS

The researchers conducted a retrospective, observational study using secondary data from the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, including nonfederal, acute care facilities from 1998 to 2012. Using measures of relative hospital occupancy, the researchers ran logistic regressions to assess the relationship between increasing hospital occupancy and inpatient mortality and 30-day out-of-hospital mortality among Medicare patients age 65 years and older with myocardial infarction, heart failure, or pneumonia.

RESULTS

Higher admission day occupancy (odds ratio [OR] = 0.96, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.94-0.99) and higher discharge day occupancy (OR = 0.62, 95% CI: 0.60-0.64) were associated with decreased inpatient mortality. Thirty-day out-of-hospital mortality increased with higher discharge day occupancy (OR=1.28, 95% CI: 1.24-1.32) but was unrelated to admission day occupancy.

CONCLUSION

This study found a counterintuitive relationship between admission and discharge day occupancy and inpatient mortality. Higher discharge day occupancy appears to displace deaths into the outpatient setting. Understanding why higher inpatient occupancy is associated with lower overall mortality merits investigation to inform best practices for inpatient care in busy hospitals.

Cost health literacy as a physician skill-set: the relationship between oncologist reported knowledge and engagement with patients on financial toxicity

INTRODUCTION

Oncologists are increasingly encouraged to communicate with patients about cost; however, they may lack the cost health literacy required to effectively perform this task.

METHODS

We conducted a pilot survey of oncologists in an academic medical center to assess potential factors that may influence provider attitudes and practices related to financial toxicity. We assessed perceived provider knowledge of treatment costs, insurance coverage and co-pays, and financially focused resources. We then evaluated the relationship between perceived knowledge and reported engagement with issues of financial toxicity.

RESULTS

Of 45 respondents (85% response rate), 58% had changed treatment within the past year as a result of patient financial burden. On self-report, 36% discussed out-of-pocket costs with patients, 42% assessed patient financial distress, but only 20% felt they could intervene upon financial toxicity. Self-perceived awareness of cost health literacy concepts were low; only 16% reporting high out-of-pocket cost knowledge, 31-33% high insurance knowledge, and 8% high awareness of financial resources. Report of cost discussion was associated with greater perceived awareness of both out-of-pocket costs and insurance design. However, reported financial distress assessment was only associated with perceived insurance awareness, not perceived cost knowledge. Cost health literacy was not associated with an increased sense of being able to impact on financial toxicity.

CONCLUSION

Oncologists acknowledge deficits in knowledge and skills that may play a role in the discussion and management of financial toxicity. Some cost health literacy competencies appear to correlate with physician involvement with financial toxicity, suggesting that education on this topic may facilitate physician engagement.

Abstract OT3-03-02: Personalized breast cancer screening in a population-based study: Women informed to screen depending on measures of risk (WISDOM)

Background: WISDOM is a 100,000 healthy women preference-tolerant, pragmatic study comparing traditional annual screening to personalized risk-based breast screening. The novelty of WISDOM personalized screening is the integration of previously validated genetic and clinical risk factors (age, family history, breast biopsy results, ethnicity, mammographic density) into a single risk assessment model that directs the starting age, timing, and frequency of screening. The goal of WISDOM is to determine if personalized screening, compared to annual screening, is as safe, less morbid, enables prevention, and is more accepted by women. The study is registered on ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02620852.

Methods: Women aged 40-74 years with no history of breast cancer or DCIS, and no previous double mastectomy can join the study online at wisdomstudy.org. Participants can either elect randomization or self-select a study arm. Then, they can provide electronic consent and sign the Release for Medical Information via DocuSign. For all participants, 5-year risk of developing breast cancer is calculated according to the Breast Cancer Screening Consortium (BCSC) model. Participants in the personalized arm undergo panel-based mutation testing (BRCA1, BRCA2, TP53, PTEN, STK11, CDH1, ATM, PALB2, and CHEK2), and their 5-year risk is calculated using the BCSC score combined with a Polygenic Risk Score (BCSC-PRS) that includes 75 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) known to increase breast cancer risk (will increase to 229). The SNPs and mutations are assessed by saliva-based testing through Color Genomics. 5-year risk level thresholds are used to stratify for low-, moderate- and high risk. Risk stratification determines age to start, stop, and frequency of screening.

Accrual: As of July 2019, the WISDOM study is open to all eligible women in California, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, and New Jersey. To date, 30,392 eligible women have registered, and 21,392 women have consented to participate in the trial. The median age was 56 years. 85% of participants were Caucasian, 2% African-American, and 5% Asian. 6% self-reported Hispanic ethnicity. WISDOM is actively partnering with Blue Cross Blue Shield Association for national coverage, self-insured companies (Salesforce, Genentech, Qualcomm, CalPERS) and Medi-Cal (Inland Empire Health Plan) using a coverage with evidence progression approach.

Accrual expansion and diversity: To strengthen generalizability, the WISDOM Study is enhancing the diversity of our potential participant population by expanding to other states (Alabama, Louisiana), and partnering with other health insurers and self-insured companies. Future expansion regions include Texas, Florida, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Montana, and New Mexico. Additionally, we have translated the whole study experience to Spanish to further reach Spanish-speaking communities. With the engagement of patient advocates and community partnerships, expanding diversity recruitment will strengthen our scientific knowledge of breast cancer risk and increase access to personalized breast cancer screening recommendations for all women. WISDOM enrollment will continue through 2020.

Conclusions: Results at 5 years will enable us to demonstrate that personalized screening improves healthcare value by reducing screen volumes and costs without jeopardizing outcomes.

Citation Format: Mandy Che, Allison Stover Fiscallini, Irene Acerbi, Yiweh Shieh, Lisa Madlensky, Jeffrey Tice, Elad Ziv, Martin Eklund, Amie Blanco, Barry Tong, Deborah Goodman, Lamees Nassereddine, Nancy Anderson, Heather Harvey, Steele Fors, Hannah L Park, Antonia Petruse, Skye Stewart, Janet Wernisch, Larissa Risty, Ian Hurley, Barbara Koenig, Celia Kaplan, Robert Hiatt, Neil Wenger, Vivian Lee, Diane Heditsian, Susie Brain, Leah Sabacan, Barbara Parker, Alexander Borowsky, Hoda Anton-Culver, Hoda Anton-Culver, Arash Naeim, Andrea Kaster, Melinda Talley, Laura van't Veer, Andrea LaCroix, Olufunmilayo I Olopade, Deepa Sheth, WISDOM Study and Athena Breast Health Network Investigators and Advocate Partners and Laura Esserman. Personalized breast cancer screening in a population-based study: Women informed to screen depending on measures of risk (WISDOM) [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2019 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2019 Dec 10-14; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(4 Suppl):Abstract nr OT3-03-02.

Establishing a Denominator for Palliative Care Quality Metrics for Patients with Advanced Cancer

Background: Measurement and monitoring of palliative care quality metrics for patients with advanced cancer promote early integration of palliative care within the oncology clinic. Accurately identifying the subset of advanced cancer patients within a population of cancer patients who would most benefit from palliative care is critical to the development of palliative care-relevant quality improvement activities. Methods: We evaluated two automated approaches to identifying patients with solid tumors sufficiently advanced to warrant discussions of palliative care and advanced care planning. These approaches included (1) pattern matching of words indicating an advanced cancer in oncology notes, radiology imaging, and active problem lists and (2) International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) codes. We randomly selected 586 charts of patients with active cancer who are patients in our health system to establish a gold standard for advanced cancer through expert chart review. We evaluated the sensitivity and specificity of these automated approaches to identify advanced cancer patients compared with the gold standard. Results: We found that the highest performing pattern matching method had a specificity of 76% and a sensitivity of 81%. Using our final ICD-10 algorithm, we achieved a specificity of 92% and a sensitivity of 68%. We improved our sensitivity to 76% while maintaining our specificity at 91% when we excluded patients assigned to oncologists who predominantly see hematological malignancies. Conclusions: We achieved high specificity and reasonable sensitivity for an advanced cancer quality metric denominator using an ICD-10 algorithm within an academic oncology practice. This concrete definition will help inform quality improvement efforts locally and beyond.

Serious illness communication among patients with head and neck cancer

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Background: Head and neck cancer is associated with significant morbidity and mortality, yet little is known about the frequency and content of discussions addressing patients’ values, goals of care, and treatment preferences. Methods: Using an institutional cancer registry, we conducted a retrospective analysis of 70 decedents who underwent surgical treatment for squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. We abstracted patients’ medical records using a standardized template. An independent reviewer re-abstracted 20% of the records. For abstracted data pertaining to documented values, goals of care, and/or treatment preferences our inter-rater reliability was greater than 93%. Results: The mean age at diagnosis was 66 years and 69% were male. An enduring advance directive, a completed Physician Order for Life Sustaining Treatment form, and a serious illness conversation documented in the medical record were noted in 27%, 4%, and 49% of the medical records, respectively. Half of the documented goals of care discussions were held in the inpatient setting, over 50% were held in the last month of life, and 25% were held in the last week of life. These conversations involved specialist palliative care providers (47%), hematologist/oncologists (41%), hospitalists (32%), head and neck surgeons (21%), radiation oncologists (19%), and intensivists (18%). None of these discussions involved patients’ primary care providers. Of those with a known location of death, 58% died in the hospital and 4 out of 5 of these patients died during attempted cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Conclusions: In this retrospective analysis, serious illness communication was documented in the minority of patients who died of head and neck cancer. These discussions occurred late in the trajectory of illness. The continuity relationships of teams treating head and neck cancer patients (e.g., head and neck surgeon, radiation/oncologist and hematologist/oncologist) situate these clinicians in the best position to enact serious illness conversations. These data suggest that opportunities to have these discussions upstream are often missed.

Implementation and dissemination of a shared mental model of palliative oncology

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Background: American Society of Clinical Oncology guidelines support early integration of palliative care (PC) into standard oncology practice; however, little is known as to whether improved outcomes can be achieved by modifying health care delivery and training oncology providers. Methods: We report our five year experience of embedding a nurse practitioner (NP) in an oncology clinic (March 2014-March 2019) to develop a shared mental model (SMM) of early, concurrent advance care planning (ACP) and PC as well as the collaborative effort to further disseminate this SMM throughout the Division of Hematology-Oncology using communication training, quality measurement, audit and feedback, leadership support, and monthly collaborative meetings. We developed PC quality metrics (process measures and end of life utilization measures) using a validated advanced cancer denominator. We used these measures to evaluate the impact of the PC-NP program (2014-2019) and provide individualized metric packets to each oncologist in the context of an annual half-day interactive communication training sessions (1-hr didactic, 3-hr small group role-play) each spring and monthly implementation team meetings from 2017-2019. Results: Compared to patients with advanced cancer not seen by the PC-NP program, patients who are enrolled in the program have higher rates of goals of care note documentation (80% vs. 17%, p < 0.01), higher rates of Physician Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST) completion (19% vs. 5%, p < 0.01), higher referral rates to the psychosocial oncology program (51% vs. 25%, p < 0.01), and higher referral rates to hospice (60% vs. 33%, p < 0.01). Among decedents, there was less hospital use (12 vs. 18 days) and ICU use (1.5 vs. 2.6 days) in the last 6 months of life. Since spring 2017, 19/21 NP’s, 64/68 physicians, and 17/20 fellows have participated in communication training. Among all patients with advanced cancer, goals of care note documentation has improved from 3% in March 2014 to 21% in March 2019. Conclusions: Embedding a trained PC-NP in oncology clinics to deliver upstream PC to patients on active treatment can lead to opportunities for development and dissemination of a SMM that translates into better primary and specialist PC.

Risk estimation, anxiety, and breast cancer worry in women at risk for breast cancer: A single-arm trial of personalized risk communication

OBJECTIVE

Elevated anxiety and breast cancer worry can impede mammographic screening and early breast cancer detection. Genetic advances and risk models make personalized breast cancer risk assessment and communication feasible, but it is unknown whether such communication of risk affects anxiety and disease-specific worry. We studied the effect of a personalized breast cancer screening intervention on risk perception, anxiety, and breast cancer worry.

METHODS

Women with a normal mammogram but elevated risk for breast cancer (N = 122) enrolled in the Athena Breast Health risk communication program were surveyed before and after receiving a letter conveying their breast cancer risk and a breast health genetic counselor consultation. We compared breast cancer risk estimation, anxiety, and breast cancer worry before and after risk communication and evaluated the relationship of anxiety and breast cancer worry to risk estimation accuracy.

RESULTS

Women substantially overestimated their lifetime breast cancer risk, and risk communication somewhat mitigated this overestimation (49% pre-intervention, 42% post-intervention, 13% Gail model risk estimate, P < .001). Both general anxiety and breast cancer worry declined significantly after risk communication in women with high baseline anxiety. Baseline anxiety and breast cancer worry were essentially unrelated to risk estimation accuracy, but risk communication increased alignment of worry with accuracy of risk assessment.

CONCLUSIONS

Personalized communication about breast cancer risk was associated with modestly improved risk estimation accuracy in women with relatively low anxiety and less anxiety and breast cancer worry in women with higher anxiety. We detected no negative consequences of informing women about elevated breast cancer risk.

A Combination of Indoor Localization and Wearable Sensor-Based Physical Activity Recognition to Assess Older Patients Undergoing Subacute Rehabilitation: Baseline Study Results

Background

Health care, in recent years, has made great leaps in integrating wireless technology into traditional models of care. The availability of ubiquitous devices such as wearable sensors has enabled researchers to collect voluminous datasets and harness them in a wide range of health care topics. One of the goals of using on-body wearable sensors has been to study and analyze human activity and functional patterns, thereby predicting harmful outcomes such as falls. It can also be used to track precise individual movements to form personalized behavioral patterns, to standardize the concept of frailty, well-being/independence, etc. Most wearable devices such as activity trackers and smartwatches are equipped with low-cost embedded sensors that can provide users with health statistics. In addition to wearable devices, Bluetooth low-energy sensors known as BLE beacons have gained traction among researchers in ambient intelligence domain. The low cost and durability of newer versions have made BLE beacons feasible gadgets to yield indoor localization data, an adjunct feature in human activity recognition. In the studies by Moatamed et al and the patent application by Ramezani et al, we introduced a generic framework (Sensing At-Risk Population) that draws on the classification of human movements using a 3-axial accelerometer and extracting indoor localization using BLE beacons, in concert.

Objective

The study aimed to examine the ability of combination of physical activity and indoor location features, extracted at baseline, on a cohort of 154 rehabilitation-dwelling patients to discriminate between subacute care patients who are re-admitted to the hospital versus the patients who are able to stay in a community setting.

Methods

We analyzed physical activity sensor features to assess activity time and intensity. We also analyzed activities with regard to indoor localization. Chi-square and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to compare demographic variables and sensor feature variables in outcome groups. Random forests were used to build predictive models based on the most significant features.

Results

Standing time percentage (P<.001, d=1.51), laying down time percentage (P<.001, d=1.35), resident room energy intensity (P<.001, d=1.25), resident bed energy intensity (P<.001, d=1.23), and energy percentage of active state (P=.001, d=1.24) are the 5 most statistically significant features in distinguishing outcome groups at baseline. The energy intensity of the resident room (P<.001, d=1.25) was achieved by capturing indoor localization information. Random forests revealed that the energy intensity of the resident room, as a standalone attribute, is the most sensitive parameter in the identification of outcome groups (area under the curve=0.84).

Conclusions

This study demonstrates that a combination of indoor localization and physical activity tracking produces a series of features at baseline, a subset of which can better distinguish between at-risk patients that can gain independence versus the patients that are rehospitalized.

A digital oncology patient-reported outcomes platform: Building innovative electronic patient symptom assessments in epic mychart to improve the quality of life and survival of patients with advanced cancer

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Background: Establishing a system to monitor patient reported outcomes (“PRO”) has been demonstrated to be essential for a well-functioning cancer system. Studies have shown that routine collection of PROs allows providers to address medical issues earlier and impacts a patient’s overall survival. Unmet needs for symptom management are prevalent in the cancer population, especially patients with advanced cancer. Approximately 35% of UCLA Hematology-Oncology patients with advanced cancer in 2016 presented to Emergency Rooms for symptom-related complaints such as nausea, pain, constipation, dehydration, and fatigue. We hypothesize that the creation of an electronic PRO platform through EPIC MyChart will ensure patients receive timely evaluation of their symptoms, resulting in improved quality of life, and decreased ER and hospital utilization. Methods: We developed an innovative PRO platform through Epic MyChart along with a Best Practice Advisory alert system to identify patients at risk for worsening symptoms, ER visits, and inpatient admissions. We then built an electronic version of the Edmonson Symptoms Assessment System, which providers can push to patients through Epic MyChart, with results stored within the Flowsheets section of Epic. We also built a passive alert using Epic’s Best Practice Advisory (“BPA”) system, to notify providers when a patient’s MyChart ESAS Assessment Scores have exceeded a defined threshold. Results: Preliminary data from surveys sent to a series of advanced cancer patients seen in an outpatient palliative oncology clinic over 1 month, demonstrated a 100% response rate (6/7) surveys completed when sent one week prior to patient’s being seeing in clinic, and 17% response rate (1/6) when sent two to three weeks prior to clinic visit. The average total ESAS score reported was 40, with average individual score of 4/10 for any given symptom. Conclusions: We will implement this electronic PRO platform in multiple oncology clinics at UCLA, and measure provider and patient satisfaction, completion rates, and monitor outcomes such as ED visits and inpatient admissions. We hope this system will lead to an overall survival benefit. This project demonstrates the potential of developing innovative PRO platforms through Epic MyChart and the importance of clinical workflows in the implementation process.

Abstract OT2-08-01: Personalized breast cancer screening in a population based study: Women Informed to Screen Depending On Measures of risk (WISDOM)

Background: WISDOM is a 100,000 healthy women preference-tolerant, pragmatic study comparing annual to personalized risk-based breast screening. The novelty of WISDOM personalized screening is the integration of previously validated genetic and clinical risk factors (age, family history, breast biopsy results, ethnicity, mammographic density) into a single risk assessment model that directs the starting age, timing, and frequency of screening. The goal of WISDOM is to determine if personalized screening, compared to annual screening, is as safe, less morbid, enables prevention, and is preferred by women. The study is registered on ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02620852.

Methods: Women aged 40-74 years with no history of breast cancer or DCIS, and no previous double mastectomy can join the study online at wisdomstudy.org. Participants can elect randomization or self-select a study arm, and provide electronic consent and Release for Medical Information using DocuSign. For all participants, 5-year risk of developing breast cancer is calculated according to the Breast Cancer Screening Consortium (BCSC) model. Participants in the personalized arm undergo panel-based mutation testing, and their 5-year risk is calculated using the BCSC score combined with a Polygenic Risk Score (BCSC-PRS) that includes 75 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs, increase to 229) known to increase breast cancer risk. SNPs and mutations (BRCA1, BRCA2, TP53, PTEN, STK11, CDH1, ATM, PALB2, and CHEK2) are assessed by saliva-based testing through Color Genomics. 5-year risk level thresholds are used to stratify for low-, moderate- and high risk. Risk stratification determines age to start, stop, and frequency of screening.

Enrollment: As of July 2018, the WISDOM study is open to all eligible women in California, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa. To date, 23,329 eligible women have registered and 14,393 women have consented to participate in the trial. We analyzed 3,255 participants who have completed risk assessment in the personalized arm. The median age was 56 years. 82% were Caucasian, 1% African-American, and 6% Asian. 9% self-reported as Hispanic. We are partnering with health insurers and self-insured companies using coverage with evidence progression. To strengthen generalizability, we are expanding to other states. WISDOM enrollment will continue past 2019.

Feasibility: To evaluate the addition of PRS, we used paired statistical tests (McNemar) to compare the distributions of BCSC, and BCSC-PRS risk estimates around low-risk (&lt;1.3%), and very-high risk (&gt;6%) thresholds, the latter corresponding to 5-year risk of a BRCA mutation carrier. The median 5-year risk was 1.5% (IQR 1.0-2.1%) using the BCSC model, and 1.4% (IQR 0.8-2.5%) using the BCSC-PRS model. The BCSC-PRS model classified more women into the low (&lt;1%) and very high (≥6%) risk categories compared to the BCSC model (p &lt; 0.001).

Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate that incorporating genetic variants into a validated clinical model is feasible and impacts risk classification compared to a model without genetic risk factors. Results at 5 years will reveal if this classification improves healthcare value by reducing screen volumes and costs without jeopardizing outcomes.

Citation Format: Acerbi I, Shieh Y, Madlensky L, Tice J, Ziv E, Eklund M, Blanco A, DeRosa D, Tong B, Goodman D, Nassereddine L, Anderson N, Harvey H, Layton T, Park HL, Petruse A, Stewart S, Wernisch J, Risty L, Koenig B, Sarrafan S, Firouzian R, Kaplan C, Hiatt R, Parker BA, Wenger N, Lee V, Heditsian D, Brain S, Stover Fiscalini A, Borowsky AD, Anton-Culver H, Naeim A, Kaster A, Talley M, van 't Veer LJ, LaCroix A, Wisdom Study and Athena Breast Health Network Investigators and Advocate Partners, Esserman LJ. Personalized breast cancer screening in a population based study: Women Informed to Screen Depending On Measures of risk (WISDOM) [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2018 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2018 Dec 4-8; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(4 Suppl):Abstract nr OT2-08-01.

Establishing a denominator for palliative care quality metrics for patients with advanced cancer

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Background: Measurement and feedback of palliative care quality metrics for patients with advanced cancer is an important aspect of supporting a shared mental model for the early integration of palliative care within the oncology clinic. Accurately identifying the subset of advanced cancer patients within a population of cancer patients is critical to the development of quality improvement activities; however, there is not a methodology of identifying these patients in real time. Methods: We evaluated two main approaches to identifying patients with advanced cancer among active cancer patients defined as patients who were seen by an oncologist at least twice in the last 6 months and who had received chemotherapy or radiation at least once in the last two years. These approaches included: 1) Pattern matching of words indicating advanced cancer (e.g. metastatic, advanced) in oncology notes, radiology imaging and problem lists and 2) ICD-10 codes. To determine the final set of ICD-10 codes for the second approach, we used a conceptual model of the meaning of advanced cancer (evidence of distant metastasis and/or poor prognostic cancer with > 50% mortality rate at 5 years) and iterative chart review. In order to test our final definitions, we randomly selected 588 charts of patients with active cancer who see one of 64 oncologists in our health system. These charts were abstracted by an oncologist to establish a gold standard for advanced cancer. We evaluated the sensitivity and specificity of our approaches to identify advanced cancer patients compared to this gold standard. Results: We found that the methods used to identify patients using pattern matching had a specificity of 76% and a sensitivity of 80%. Using our final ICD-10 algorithm we achieved a specificity of 93% and a sensitivity of 68%. We improved our sensitivity to 74% while maintaining our specificity at 92% when we excluded oncologists who predominantly see hematological malignancies. Conclusions: We achieved high specificity and reasonable sensitivity for an advanced cancer quality metric denominator using an ICD-10 algorithm within an academic oncology practice. This will help inform quality improvement efforts locally and beyond.

The Association of Inpatient Occupancy with Hospital-Acquired Clostridium difficile Infection

Few studies have evaluated the relationship between high hospital occupancy and hospital-acquired complications. We evaluated the association between inpatient occupancy and hospital-acquired Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) using a novel measure of hospital occupancy. We analyzed administrative data from California hospitals from 2008-2012 for Medicare recipients aged 65 years with a discharge diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, or pneumonia. Using daily census data, we constructed patient-level measures of occupancy on admission day and average occupancy during hospitalization (range: 0-1), which were split into 4 groups. We used logistic regression with cluster standard errors to estimate the adjusted and unadjusted relationship of occupancy with hospital-acquired CDI. Across 327 hospitals, 558,344 discharges met our inclusion criteria. Higher admission day occupancy was associated with significantly lower adjusted likelihood of CDI. Compared to the 0-0.25 occupancy group, patients admitted on a day of 0.51-0.75 occupancy had 0.86 odds of CDI (95% CI 0.75-0.98). The 0.76-1.00 admission occupancy group had 0.87 odds of CDI (95% CI 0.75-1.01). With regard to average occupancy, intermediate levels of occupancy 0.26-0.50 (odds ratio [OR] = 3.04, 95% CI 2.33-3.96) and 0.51-0.75 (OR = 3.28, 95% CI 2.51-4.28) had over 3-fold increased adjusted odds of CDI relative to the low occupancy group; the high occupancy group did not have signifcantly different odds of CDI compared to the low occupancy group (OR = 0.96, 95% CI 0.70-1.31). These findings should prompt exploration of how hospitals react to occupancy changes and how those care processes translate into hospital-acquired complications in order to inform best practices.

Abstract PD2-14: Participation in a personalized breast cancer screening trial does not increase anxiety at baseline

Introduction: The purpose of this study is to examine whether participation in a personalized screening trial is associated with anxiety or breast cancer worry. The Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute recently funded WISDOM (Women Informed to Screen Depending On Measures of risk), which is a randomized trial that tests the safety and efficacy of basing starting age, stopping age, frequency and modality of breast cancer screening on individual risk (Clinical Trials Identifier NCT02620852).

Methods: In WISDOM, participants can be randomized to annual screening or personalized screening arm, or self-select an arm an observational cohort. This interim analysis examined the first 1817 participants to determine if the personalized risk arm is acceptable and to explore whether baseline anxiety was associated with study arm. For acceptability our target was to have &gt;60% of participants agree to randomization. Participants completed questions about their Risk Perception, the PROMIS Anxiety short form 8a (total scores 8-40 with higher scores indicating more anxiety), and Breast Cancer Risk Worry (BCRW) survey (total scores 5-20) with higher scores indicating more worry) at baseline and before they were given information on their personal risk or study assignment. For the purposes of these analyses, we defined high anxiety to be the percentage of participants scoring =&gt;22 on the PROMIS and &gt;8 on the BCRW.

Results: The participants were recruited from three sites (UCSD, UCSF, Sanford Health). Of the 1817 initial participants, 1643 completed the baseline questionnaire. Participants has a mean age of 57 years (SD 9). 15.8% felt their chances of developing breast cancer was high, 19.5% felt their chance of developing breast cancer was greater than the average women, and 56.6% felt their lifetime risk of developing breast cancer was &gt;25. Risk perception was not significantly different between women who opted to be randomized versus the observational arm.

The majority of participants were willing to be randomly assigned to an arm (1071/1643, 65.1%). Of those who joined the observational cohort, the majority selected personalized risk arm (474/572, 82.9%). Overall, PROMIS anxiety scores were low at baseline (14.0 MEAN (SD 4.6)) as were the Breast Cancer Risk Worry scores (5.7 MEAN (SD 1.05)). Less than 8% of participants had PROMIS scores &gt;22 and that did not vary across the randomized or observational groups (P=0.2)). About 2% of participants had a BCRW scores &gt;8. Women who worried with breast cancer were more likely to select to be in the observational (3.5%) than randomized (1.7%) arm of the study (P=0.02).

Conclusions: For the women approached to participate in Wisdom, personalized screening was acceptable alternative to annual mammography. Participants in general overestimated their lifetime risk of breast cancer, had very low anxiety and low breast cancer worry. Those who were worried about breast cancer opted more often for the observational arm of the study to allow them to choose between the personalized versus annual arm. Future analyses will follow participants prospectively to determine adherence to assigned or selected arm, and whether anxiety changes after receipt of their personalized risk information.

Citation Format: Naeim A, Sepucha K, Wenger N, Eklund M, Annette S, Madlensky L, van't Veer L, Parker B, Yau C, Cink T, Anton-Culver H, Borowsky A, Petruse A, Sarrafan S, Stover-Fiscalini A, LaCroix A, Adduci K, Wisdom Advocate Partners, Laura E. Participation in a personalized breast cancer screening trial does not increase anxiety at baseline [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2017 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2017 Dec 5-9; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(4 Suppl):Abstract nr PD2-14.

Engaging oncologists toward integrating a shared mental model for palliative oncology within a large academic oncology practice

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Background: We aimed to engage oncologists to disseminate a successful pilot-tested shared mental model (SMM) for the integration of early advance care planning (ACP) and identification of palliative care (PC) needs across a health system’s oncologic practice. Methods: Our Oncology Communication Collaborative Team (OCCT) had oncology leadership support and included a multidisciplinary team representing leaders in oncology, ACP, PC, psycho-social oncology and quality. To communicate the SMM developed by our team, the OCCT developed an interactive Saturday session (1-hr didactic, 3-hr small group role-play) that focused on early ACP and the cognitive and emotional aspects of communication. Before and after the training, we asked participants to rate their ability to communicate with patients as well as their readiness, self-efficacy, and need for help to improve communication regarding prognosis, ACP, end of life care and symptom management using a previously validated survey. We computed means and compared matched pairs of pre and post surveys using a paired t-test. We also surveyed participants about whether they would recommend the course to others and planned changes to practice. Results: All but one oncologist (52/53), 3/4 invited fellows, and 12/14 oncology nurse practitioners participated and 90% of attendees completed pre and post surveys. Participants rated their communication ability higher (6.7 v. 7.6, p < 0.01) on a 10-point scale after the training. Readiness to improve communication in this domain (9.1 v. 9.2, p = 0.35) was similar before and after the training. Self-efficacy (1.5 v. 1.5, p = 0.70) and needing help to improve (1.6 v. 1.7, p = 0.37) were rated highly (1 = A lot and 4 = Not at all) but did not change with training. All but one participant reported they would recommend the course to others and free text responses about changes they planned to make to their practice based on the training included: having earlier ACP discussions, focusing on patient goals/priorities and asking open-ended questions. Conclusions: Conducting a training to disseminate a SMM of oncology and PC is feasible, valuable, and can be the first step for partnered continuous quality improvement.

Implementing the Bereaved Family Survey for an advanced cancer population

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Background: Despite being endorsed as a National Quality Forum measure, the Bereaved Family Survey (BFS), a tool to assess a patient’s end-of-life (EOL) experience, has not been broadly used outside the Veteran’s Affairs Health System or in the outpatient setting. We adapted the BFS for an advanced cancer population and implemented it at an academic health system to identify areas for quality improvement in EOL care. Methods: Between August 2016 and May 2017, we surveyed caregivers of advanced cancer decedents. We included English-speaking decedents > 18 years of age who were continuity patients of a health system oncologist and had documentation of metastatic disease in either problem list, oncology notes, or advanced imaging. Death was verified in the chart or by obituary found via internet search. Caregivers surveyed were the appointed healthcare agent in an advance directive or the first listed contact. Scoring was done via the top-box approach. Surveys were mailed 3 months after death with a follow-up post-card reminder and phone-call at 2 and 4 weeks, respectively. Results: Of 285 eligible decedents, 242 caregivers were mailed surveys with 83 completed (34% response rate) of whom 28% died in the hospital. Mean overall BFS score was 75 out of 100. Ratings were high for overall care quality (78% Always/Usually) and staff caring (74% Always) with lower ratings for communication (58% Always), emotional/spiritual support (37% Always with 30% not wanting support) and pain control (56% Always/Usually uncomfortable). Nearly 84% of respondents felt their loved one died in the right place and 67% felt staff caring for the patient provided a dignified death. 74% of patients were referred to hospice with 64% of caregivers stating the hospice referral was timely. Write-in responses mentioned concerns about caregiver support, the quality and timeliness of hospice care and communication between physician and patient/caregiver. Over half of statements were positive remarks about a physician or ancillary staff member. Conclusions: A post-mortem survey implemented for an advanced cancer population received a modest response rate but collected valuable information regarding gaps in care quality to drive quality improvement.

Evaluation of an NP-based model of palliative care delivery within an oncology clinic

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Background: We initiated a nurse practitioner (NP)-based model of palliative care delivery embedded within an oncology clinic guided by a shared mental model (SMM) between palliative care, oncology, and psychosocial oncology clinicians in order to foster best practice collaboration and closed-loop communication between teams. These data represent processes and outcomes three years after initial implementation of the program. Methods: We evaluated program growth as well as advance care planning, hospice use, and utilization in patients with advanced cancer seen by the palliative care NP compared to patients receiving usual care from March 2014 to March 2017 at University-based oncology clinics. We developed a palliative care quality improvement tool integrating administrative and clinical data from multiple sources, including the electronic health record (EHR) and external hospices, using progressive methods of pulling data, such as natural language processing, in order to identify patients with advanced cancer and key process and end of life utilization measures. We used chi square tests to compare care received by the two groups. Results: There was good adoption of the intervention. The number of participating oncologists increased from 2 to 5 and the palliative care NP shifted from part-time to full-time after the first 1.5 years of implementation. Patients enrolled in the NP-based model of palliative care delivery were more likely to have a documented goals of care conversation (74.6% v. 9%, p < 0.01), to be referred for additional psychosocial support (52.5% v. 30.9%, p < 0.01), and to complete physician orders for life sustaining treatment (POLST) (20.3% v. 4.5%, p < 0.01). There was no statistically significant difference in advance directive completion (28.8% v. 23.5%). Among decedents, patients enrolled in the NP-based model were more likely to be enrolled in hospice (50.5% v. 29.1%, p < 0.01). There were non-statistically significant trends toward less hospital (4.6 days v. 5.6 days) and ICU use (1.0 day vs. 1.3 days) in the last 30 days of life. Conclusions: An NP-model of palliative care delivery within an oncology clinic led to important improvements in key palliative care processes and outcomes.

Palliative Care and Health Care Utilization for Patients With End-Stage Liver Disease at the End of Life

BACKGROUND & AIMS

There has been increased attention on ways to improve the quality of end-of-life care for patients with end-stage liver disease; however, there have been few reports of care experiences for patients during terminal hospitalizations. We analyzed data from a large national database to increase our understanding of palliative care for and health care utilization by patients with end-stage liver disease.

METHODS

We performed a cross-sectional, observational study to examine terminal hospitalizations of adults with decompensated cirrhosis using data from the National Inpatient Sample from 2009 through 2013. We collected data on palliative care consultation and total hospital costs, and performed multivariate regression analyses to identify factors associated with palliative care consultation. We also investigated whether consultation was associated with lower costs.

RESULTS

Among hospitalized adults with terminal decompensated cirrhosis, 30.3% received palliative care; the mean cost per hospitalization was $48,551 ± $1142. Palliative care consultation increased annually, and was provided to 18.0% of patients in 2009 and to 36.6% of patients in 2013 (P < .05). The mean cost for the terminal hospitalization did not increase significantly ($47,969 in 2009 to $48,956 in 2013, P = .77). African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, and liver transplant candidates were less likely to receive palliative care, whereas care in large urban teaching hospitals was associated with a higher odds of receiving consultation. Palliative care was associated with lower procedure burden-after adjusting for other factors, palliative care was associated with a cost reduction of $10,062.

CONCLUSIONS

Palliative care consultation for patients with end-stage liver disease increased from 2009 through 2013. Palliative care consultation during terminal hospitalizations is associated with lower costs and procedure burden. Future research should evaluate timing and effects of palliative care on quality of end-of-life care in this population.

The effect of implementing a care coordination program on team dynamics and the patient experience

OBJECTIVES

Care coordination programs are frequently implemented in the redesign of primary care systems, focused on improving patient outcomes and reducing utilization. However, redesign can be disruptive, affect patient experiences, and undermine elements in the patient-centered medical home, such as team-based care.

STUDY DESIGN

Case-controlled study with difference-in-differences (DID) and cross-sectional analyses.

METHODS

The phased implementation of a care coordination program permitted evaluation of a natural experiment to compare measures of patient experience and teamwork in practices with and without care coordinators. Patient experience scores were compared before and after the introduction of care coordinators, using DID analyses. Cross-sectional data were used to compare teamwork, based on the relational coordination survey, and physician-perceived barriers to coordinated care between clinics with and without care coordinators.

RESULTS

We evaluated survey responses from 459 staff and physicians and 13,441 patients in 26 primary care practices. Practices with care coordinators did not have significantly different relational coordination scores compared with practices without care coordinators, and physicians in these practices did not report reduced barriers to coordinated care. After implementation of the program, patients in practices with care coordinators reported a more positive experience with staff over time (DID, 2.6 percentage points; P = .0009).

CONCLUSIONS

A flexible program that incorporates care coordinators into the existing care team was minimally disruptive to existing team dynamics, and the embedded care coordinators were associated with a small increase in patient ratings that reflected a more positive experience with staff.

Abstract 5946: Universal consent for biospecimens: A novel electronic/video consent

Background: Developing innovative, efficient and institutionally scalable bio-specimen consent for remnant tissue that meets the NIH consent guidelines for genomic and molecular analysis is essential for precision medicine efforts in cancer. Solutions in this arena need to satisfy the needs of patients, researchers, ethicists, IRB and compliance leadership, while fitting as seamlessly as possible into existing clinical workflows.

Methods: UCLA developed a video-application kiosk-based approach for providing universal consent to repurpose clinical remnant bio-specimen for research. The process was designed to be self-service, comprehensive yet fast (mean shorter than 5 minute for completion). The consent additionally asked the patient if they were willing to be contacted directly for future research projects. This approach was piloted with 474 patients who were coming in for routine services in laboratory medicine, radiology, oncology, and hospital admissions. Of the pilot population, 175 individuals had targeted surveys to evaluate drivers for opting-in or opting-out of the consent for allowing the collection and use of their remnant tissue for research. The cognitive survey was online and presented immediately after the consent process was completed.

Results: The opt-in rate for the pilot was 90.7%, and 56% agreed to direct contact for future research. Only 7% needed help navigating the online consent process. Of the subgroup of pilot population who completed the targeted survey, there was no difference between individuals who opted in and out regarding ease of use, of the consent application with about 75% stating it provided mostly or very useful information, 90% stating it was mostly or very easy to understand, and 85% stating they trusted the information. However, there were significant differences between those that opted-in and opted-out in their beliefs concerning usefulness of tissue, trusting researchers, importance of contributing to science and privacy risk with those opting in strongly supporting these beliefs (&gt;90%) compared to those that opted out (&lt;40%), p&lt;0.001.

Conclusions: Video-application approach for allowing individuals to consent for remnant specimens to be collected and used for research, including cancer research, can be efficient, patient-centric and meet the NIH requirements. This method could increase the availability of blood and tissue for cancer research and should be tested for scalability as an enterprise solution.

Citation Format: Arash Naeim, Neil Wenger, Antonia Petruse, Liliana Sanchez, Azita Sharif, Sarah Dry. Universal consent for biospecimens: A novel electronic/video consent [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 5946. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-5946

Use of a Shared Mental Model by a Team Composed of Oncology, Palliative Care, and Supportive Care Clinicians to Facilitate Shared Decision Making in a Patient With Advanced Cancer

Our case describes the efforts of team members drawn from oncology, palliative care, supportive care, and primary care to assist a woman with advanced cancer in accepting care for her psychosocial distress, integrating prognostic information so that she could share in decisions about treatment planning, involving family in her care, and ultimately transitioning to hospice. Team members in our setting included a medical oncologist, oncology nurse practitioner, palliative care nurse practitioner, oncology social worker, and primary care physician. The core members were the patient and her sister. Our team grew organically as a result of patient need and, in doing so, operationalized an explicitly shared understanding of care priorities. We refer to this shared understanding as a shared mental model for care delivery, which enabled our team to jointly set priorities for care through a series of warm handoffs enabled by the team's close proximity within the same clinic. When care providers outside our integrated team became involved in the case, significant communication gaps exposed the difficulty in extending our shared mental model outside the integrated team framework, leading to inefficiencies in care. Integration of this shared understanding for care and close proximity of team members proved to be key components in facilitating treatment of our patient's burdensome cancer-related distress so that she could more effectively participate in treatment decision making that reflected her goals of care.

A provider-based quality improvement intervention aimed at improving appropriateness of radiation therapy regimens for patients with advanced cancer and painful bone metastases

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Background: Although guidelines suggest that shorter course radiation treatments for patients with advanced cancer and painful bone metastases are most appropriate, treatment patterns in the United States are inconsistent with this approach. Methods: We implemented a provider-focused intervention at a university-based radiation oncology practice aimed at improving rates of shorter-course radiation treatments for patients with advanced cancer and painful bone metastases. The intervention involved key leaders of the practice participating in a RAND/UCLA Appropriateness Panel to review the latest guidelines and evidence and judge appropriateness of various treatment regimens as it pertained to their practice. These results were compared to current (7/2012-6/2013) practice patterns and presented to the faculty group. This exercise informed a template-based point of care intervention led by a clinical champion and leadership that focused on key aspects of clinical and patient-centered care including whether the bone metastases were complicated or uncomplicated, patient prognosis, extent of disease, and travel distance for the patient to the treatment site. We compared rates of lower burden treatment regimens (less than 10 fractions) for 81 pre-intervention patients with 107 metastases treated between 7/2012-6/2013 and 75 post-intervention patients with 94 metastases treated between 5/2015-1/2016. Results: Overall, painful bone metastases were treated with less than 10 fractions more often in the post-intervention period (38% v. 63%, p < 0.001). Uncomplicated bone metastases treated with conformal radiation were also more likely to be treated with less than 10 fractions in the post intervention period (19% v. 52%, p < 0.001). One quarter of metastases were treated with SBRT during both the pre and post-intervention periods. Conclusions: Leadership support, provider engagement in integrating guidelines into practice, and a note template with point of care clinical reminders can improve rates of appropriate, low-burden radiation oncology treatments for patients with advanced cancer.

Use of the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale in patients with advanced cancer referred to an embedded palliative care clinician

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Background: Physical and emotional symptoms are highly prevalent in patients with advanced cancers and contribute to overall distress level and decreased self-reported quality of life. Oncology organizations and accrediting bodies now routinely recommend universal distress screening among patients with advanced cancers. Palliative and supportive care clinicians play an important role in implementing symptom and distress screening in cancer centers. Methods: As part of an embedded palliative care nurse practitioner (PC-NP) intervention within a large ambulatory oncology clinic, patients with advanced breast, GU, GI and lung cancer were screened for physical and emotional symptoms using the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS) and treated appropriately including referral to psychology-based supportive care clinic for moderate to severe anxiety and depression or clinician-identified need. We used pre-test post-test methods to see if symptoms improved after enrollment in an embedded palliative oncology program. Results: Sixty-eight patients were screened at initial visit and 41 had follow-up screening during the first 13 months of the program with a part-time PC-NP. Only the 41 patients who had both an initial and a follow-up visit were included in the analysis. Patients were assessed using the ESAS at initial visit and at a follow-up visit an average of 5.9 weeks later (RANGE 1.0-30.6), and significant reductions were found in self-reported pain (4.0 v. 3.0), shortness of breath (3.0 v. 2.1), lack of appetite (2.8 v. 2.1), and overall well-being (4.7 v 3.8) (p < 0.05). Emotional symptoms (anxiety and depression) also decreased but were not statistically significant. Aggregate scores (emotional symptoms plus physical symptoms plus well-being) demonstrated a 6 point reduction in severity (26.2 baseline to 20.3 at follow-up, p = 0.17). Conclusions: These findings are suggestive of improvement in cancer-related symptoms and distress after enrollment in an embedded palliative oncology program. More rigorous study designs are needed to better understand the impact of the intervention on symptom management.