Improving Cancer Screening and Follow-up in Community Health Centers
Study Details
Study Description
Brief Summary
This is an implementation science study that examines implementation of a single intervention and the development of practice-level implementation strategies to facilitate implementation of the intervention.
| Condition or Disease | Intervention/Treatment | Phase |
|---|---|---|
|
N/A |
Detailed Description
The research team has a strong partnership with Azara Healthcare, which provides a population management platform to 325 community health centers (CHCs) in 30 US states. This platform, the Data Reporting and Visualization System (DRVS), allows for population- and patient-level tracking and data visualization. Individual CHCs can customize DRVS by using different functionalities that track specific conditions or care gaps. The aim of this study is to pilot test an implementation intervention to integrate new DRVS tools into practice and assess its impact on timely screening and follow-up in health centers based on availability of patient navigators. This is a small, pre-post design pilot test in which the research team will implement screening tools and practice facilitation over a 4-month period and examine rates of screening referrals, screening completion, and diagnostic resolution. The research team will select up to 4 CHCs to participate (two with patient navigation for cancer screening care and two without patient navigation). The CHCs will be selected from among those who use the DRVS system and express interest in the study. As agreed on by sites, the decision to participate in the intervention will be made at the site-level through collaboration with facility leadership and state primary care associations. The intervention is a practice-level clinical strategy that consists of routine care. Participants will be CHC staff whose duties include helping patients to complete cancer screening and follow-up of abnormal tests as well as CHC patients who experience a clinical encounter as a result of use of the tools. As part of the usual DRVS tool roll-out, Azara will provide staff with 1.5 hours of training on use of the new DRVS tools. The research team anticipates using facilitation as an implementation strategy to troubleshoot intervention workflows and to troubleshoot intervention workflows and monitor implementation. However, the team will be evaluating CHC barriers to implementation and may use alternative implementation strategies if warranted. The CHC staff member who interacts with the DRVS in relation to cancer screening will then, as part of the study, participate in 6 hours of facilitation over 4 months to troubleshoot intervention workflows and monitor implementation. The CHC staff who participate in the implementation will be asked to participate in one follow-up, virtual interview. The research team will use coded data to examine the impact of the tools on patient screening outcomes. The team will not have access to the codes that would allow identification (as will be specified in the data use agreement [DUA] with Azara).
The human-subjects research aspect of this project consists of an evaluation of the implementation intervention with up to 3 staff and 2 patients per CHC via one-hour interviews. The CHC staff whose duties include use of the DRVS tools for cancer screening will participate in a semi-structured interview (up to 60 minutes) to assess their experience with the intervention and ideas for further improvements. Patients who interact with the clinic because of the CHCs use of the tools will also participate in a semi-structured interview (up to 60 minutes) to assess their experiences. The CHCs that agree to participate in the study will be informed at the time of their agreement that staff that use the screening tools and patients who have a clinical encounter because of use of the screening tools will be asked to participate in interviews to assess their experience with the tools. Following completion of the pilot intervention test period, the research team will send the designated staff or patient an email invitation to participate in the interview. The email will include a description of the study purpose. Interview questions for staff will cover the use of tools by asking participants to describe how the tools are integrated into their daily practice, as well as perceived barriers and facilitators to using the tools and strategies to overcome barriers. Interview questions for patient participants will cover their experiences with the follow-up and support provided by the CHC staff related to closing their screening gaps. Interviews will be conducted via zoom or the participant's preferred platform. A research assistant will sit in on the interviews to take notes. Interviews will be audio-recorded, and recordings will be saved on a secure HSPH drive. Participants' involvement is complete after the interview.
Study Design
Arms and Interventions
| Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
|---|---|
| Other: All Pilot Sites All community health centers participating in the study will implement the new population health management tools utilizing tailored implementation strategies |
Other: Practice-Level Implementation Strategies
The intervention is implementation of new population health management tools that may better leverage patient navigation and other staff resources to ensure timely abnormal follow up of breast and colorectal cancer screening. The research team will work with CHCs to select implementation strategies that will best facilitate integration of the new tools into practice. The team will use electronic health record data (analyzed at the population level) to determine the impact of the new tools on screening outcomes and qualitative data from up to 3 staff and 2 patients per CHC to evaluate integration of the tools into practice.
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Outcome Measures
Primary Outcome Measures
- Number of open orders for FIT screening [4 months]
Measured from electronic health record
- Number of open orders for mammography screening [4 months]
Measured from electronic health record
Secondary Outcome Measures
- Time to diagnostic resolution among those with abnormal FIT tests [4 months]
Measured from electronic health record
- Time to diagnostic resolution among those with abnormal mammograms [4 months]
Measured from electronic health record
- Feasibility of Implementation Strategies [4 months]
Assessed via Qualitative Interviews
- Acceptability of Implementation Strategies [4 months]
Assessed via Qualitative Interviews
- Appropriateness of Implementation Strategies [4 months]
Assessed via Qualitative Interviews
Eligibility Criteria
Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
- To participate, individuals must be over the age of 18 and employed at a participating Community Health Center.
Exclusion Criteria:
- None
Contacts and Locations
Locations
| Site | City | State | Country | Postal Code | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coastal Family Health Center, Inc. | Biloxi | Mississippi | United States | 39530 |
| 2 | CareSouth Carolina, Inc. | Hartsville | South Carolina | United States | 29550 |
| 3 | Partnership Community Health Center, Inc. | Appleton | Wisconsin | United States | 54913 |
Sponsors and Collaborators
- Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH)
- National Institutes of Health (NIH)
- National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Investigators
- Principal Investigator: Karen M Emmons, PhD, Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH)
Study Documents (Full-Text)
None provided.More Information
Publications
None provided.- 20-1456
- R03CA256233-01
- 3P50CA244433-01S2