NCT04931251

Addressing Cancer-Related Financial Toxicity in Rural Oncology Care Settings

Addressing Cancer-Related Financial Toxicity in Rural North Carolina Oncology Care Settings

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 258 (actual)
• Sponsor: UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The financial burden, or financial toxicity (FT), of cancer is a consequential and growing problem, particularly for rural patients. It is important to improve our understanding of how financial navigation (FN) can reduce the material, psychological, and behavioral burden of costs associated with cancer care in both rural and non-rural community settings. The purpose of this study is to conduct a financial navigation program in 5 rural and 4 non-rural oncology practices in North Carolina and evaluate the effects of financial navigation on patient outcomes, including financial toxicity and health-related quality of life.

Detailed description

This study is designed to evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of a financial navigation intervention within 5 rural and 4 non-rural oncology settings in North Carolina. Financial navigators from each of the 9 sites will recruit and enroll 255 patients total across all sites into a financial navigation program. The financial navigation intervention consists of screening patients using the COST measure for financial toxicity. If the patient scores 23 or lower, they are considered to have moderate to severe financial toxicity and will be enrolled in the study. Patients will then complete a series of baseline questionnaires to measure their health related quality of life and then they will meet with a financial navigator for a comprehensive intake process to determine potential financial assistance resources the patient may be eligible for and continued visits with the financial navigator until all financial assistance resources have been explored and patients have received benefits or referrals to financial assistance programs. At the end of the intervention, the patients will complete the COST measure again, and repeat baseline surveys to measure health-related quality of life and the patient's acceptability and responsiveness of the financial navigation intervention. Patient participation depends on the depth of patient need but ranges from 2 visits to 6 visits with the financial navigator over approximately 4 months but possibly longer depending on the complexity of the patient's financial need.

Conditions

• Neoplasms
• Carcinoma

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Financial Navigation	providing financial navigation for cancer patients in NC to identify available financial assistance resources to assist patients with the cost of cancer

Timeline

• Start date: 2021-11-11
• Primary completion: 2025-07-31
• Completion: 2025-07-31
• First posted: 2021-06-18
• Last updated: 2025-11-26

Locations

8 sites across 1 country: United States