Racial Disparities in Prostate Specific Antigen Screening and Referral to Urology in a Large, Integrated Health Care System: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

PURPOSE: Contemporary trends and racial disparities in prostate cancer screening and referral to urology for prostate cancer risk are not well characterized, despite consensus that Black men are at higher risk for poor prostate cancer outcomes. The objective of this study was to characterize current racial disparities in prostate cancer screening and referral from primary care to urology for prostate cancer concern within our large, integrated health care system. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective cohort study used data from Atrium Health's enterprise data warehouse, which includes patient information from more than 900 care locations across North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. We included all men seen in the ambulatory or outpatient setting between 2014 and 2019 who were ≥40 years old. Clinical and demographic data were collected for all men, including age and race. Racial outcomes were reported for all groups with >2% representation in the population. Between-group comparisons were determined using chi-squared analysis, Wilcoxon rank sum testing and multivariable logistic regression, with significance defined as p <0.05. RESULTS: We observed a significant decrease in prostate specific antigen testing across all age and racial groups in a cohort of 606,985 men at Atrium Health, including 87,189 Black men, with an overall relative decline of 56%. As compared to White men, Black men were more likely to undergo prostate specific antigen testing (adjusted OR 1.24, 95% CI 1.22-1.26) and be referred to urology for prostate cancer (adjusted OR 1.94, 95% CI 1.75-2.16). CONCLUSIONS: There was a continued significant decline in prostate cancer screening between 2014 and 2019. Despite having modestly elevated odds of being screened for prostate cancer compared to White men, Black men are relatively underscreened when considering that those who undergo prostate specific antigen screening are more likely to be referred by primary care to urology for additional prostate cancer diagnostic evaluation.

Smartphone apps for cancer: A content analysis of the digital health marketplace.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine the state of smartphone applications for cancer intended for the general public with a focus on interactive features, content sources, and application developer affiliations. The level of health provider involvement in screening or appraising application content was also assessed. METHODS: A total of 123 apps were identified for analysis from two major mobile application marketplaces (Apple iTunes = 40; Google Play = 83). Application characteristics were collected, analyzed, and reported. These included the mobile platform, cost, application developer affiliation, date of last update, purpose of application, content sources, and interactive features. RESULTS: In the study sample, 50% of the applications focused on general information for cancer (62/123). Next, this was followed by applications for breast cancer (15%, 19/123) and skin cancer (7%, 8/123). Only 10% of application descriptions (12/123) identified sources for application content. Interactive features included the ability to monitor symptoms, side effects, treatments, and chronic pain (20%, 25/123). Only 3% of the applications (4/123) stated content had been evaluated by health providers. CONCLUSIONS: This study contributes an updated analysis of applications for cancer available in the digital health marketplace. The findings have implications for information quality and supportive resources for cancer care. More transparent information about content sources, organizational affiliations, and level of health provider oversight in screening application content is warranted. Recommendations for improving the quality of cancer applications are also offered.

eHealth Activity among African American and White Cancer Survivors: A New Application of Theory.

eHealth is a promising resource for cancer survivors and may contribute to reducing racial disparities in cancer survivorship. This research applies the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) to examine eHealth activity among African American (AfAm) and White cancer survivors. In a population-based sample of AfAm and White survivors (n = 300), a Poisson regression tested whether UTAUT constructs (facilitating conditions, social influence, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness) and beliefs about security/trustworthiness of eHealth were associated with the number of eHealth activities respondents had used. To test whether the effects varied across racial groups, interactions between each of these five facets and survivor race were included in the model. The model adjusted for demographic characteristics, cancer history, and internet access and use. Across racial groups, facilitating conditions (IRR = 1.44, 95%CI [1.17, 1.77]) and perceived usefulness (IRR = 1.16, 95%CI [1.08, 1.24]) were associated with increased eHealth activity. A marginally significant interaction between race and perceived ease of use (IRR = 1.17, 95%CI [0.99, 1.39]) indicated this perception was associated with decreased eHealth activity for White but not AfAm survivors. A significant interaction between race and perceived security/trustworthiness (IRR = 1.16, 95%CI [1.02, 1.32]) indicated this perception was associated with increased eHealth activity for AfAm but not White survivors. Social influence was not associated with eHealth use for either group (IRR = 1.07, 95%CI [0.98, 1.16]). Interventions targeting attitudes about eHealth may encourage its adoption and use. Furthermore, eHealth tools intended for use among AfAm cancer survivors should ensure they are secure and emphasize trustworthiness to intended users.

Patients With Cancer and Social Media: Harness Benefits, Avoid Drawbacks.

Social media (SM) platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and online cancer support groups are an emerging source of social support. However, oncology care professionals may be unfamiliar with how patients use SM related to their cancer diagnosis. SM can be potentially beneficial by providing an avenue for patient engagement and empowerment, increasing psychosocial and informational support, strengthening patient-physician relationships, and relaying opportunities for clinical and research study participation. Conversely, it can spread misinformation, overwhelm with information overload, violate privacy, and expose users to financial exploitation. The purpose of this article is to describe five potential benefits and five potential drawbacks patients may experience while using SM and to encourage oncologists to become aware of these, to guide patients in using SM to their benefit. This review also provides specific care practice behaviors that oncologists can apply during care delivery to guide patients' SM use, to help avoid the potential drawbacks and harness the potential benefits.

Cancer Pain Relief After Healing Touch and Massage.

OBJECTIVES: To establish and compare the effectiveness of Healing Touch (HT) and Oncology Massage (OM) therapies on cancer patients' pain. DESIGN: pretest/post-test, observational, retrospective study. SETTINGS/LOCATION: Outpatient oncology setting at an academic hybrid, multisite, community-based cancer institute. SUBJECTS: n = 572 cancer outpatients. INTERVENTIONS: Patients reported pain before and after receiving a single session of either HT or OM from a certified practitioner. OUTCOME MEASURES: Pain scores from 0 = no pain to 10 = worst possible pain. RESULTS: Two hundred ninety-one patients (50.9%) receiving HT and 281 (49.1%) receiving OM reported pretherapy and post-therapy pain. Pretherapy mean pain was higher in HT patients (M = 5.1, ±2.2) than OM (M = 4.4, ±2.2), p < 0.001; post-therapy mean pain remained higher in HT patients (M = 2.6, ±2.1) than OM (M = 2.0, ±1.8), p < 0.001. Both HT (p < 0.01) and OM (p < 0.01) significantly reduced pain. Unadjusted rates of clinically significant pain improvement (defined as ≥2-point reduction in pain score) were 0.68 HT and 0.71 OM. Adjusted for pretherapy pain, OM was associated with increased odds of pain improvement (odds ratio [OR] 1.49 95% confidence interval (1.02-2.19); p = 0.041). For patients with severe pretherapy pain, OM was not more effective in yielding clinically significant pain reduction (p = 0.236) when adjusting for pretherapy pain score. CONCLUSIONS: Both HT and OM provided immediate pain relief. Future research should explore the duration of pain relief, patient attitudes about HT compared with OM, and how this may differ among patients with varied pretherapy pain levels.

Inclusion of underserved racial and ethnic groups in cancer intervention research using new media: a systematic literature review.

BACKGROUND: An increasing number of behavioral and psychosocial cancer interventions incorporate new media elements that are digital, networked, and interactive. However, it is unclear to what extent new media is being leveraged to benefit underserved racial and ethnic groups who disproportionately bear the burden of cancer. This inquiry is timely in light of growing evidence that these groups are receptive to new media. A systematic literature review was conducted to assess the inclusion of these groups in research on cancer-related new media interventions and use of new media to reduce racial and ethnic cancer disparities. METHODS: A systematic search of three databases was conducted for articles published between January 2000 and March 2012 that presented studies of user experience with a behavioral or psychosocial cancer-related intervention with at least one new media component. RESULTS: Thirty-six articles were included in the final review. In about one-quarter of the studies, less than 20% of participants were African American, Latino, Asian American, or American Indian. In less than 10% of the studies, 80% or more of the samples were members of the aforementioned groups. Almost one-third of the studies reviewed were categorized as disparity focused but limited data were available on racial and ethnic differences in responses to new media interventions. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that the promise and potential of new media cancer interventions are largely unrealized among the underserved. Additional research is needed to investigate a wide range of issues related to the development and delivery of such interventions in diverse racial and ethnic groups.