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The association between cancer care coordination and quality of life is stronger for breast cancer patients with lower health literacy: A Greater Plains Collaborative study
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

The association between cancer care coordination and quality of life is stronger for breast cancer patients with lower health literacy: A Greater Plains Collaborative study

Bradley D McDowell, Jennifer Klemp, Anne Blaes, Andrea A Cohee, Amy Trentham-Dietz, Sailaja Kamaraju, Julie L Otte, Sarah L Mott and Elizabeth A Chrischilles
Supportive care in cancer, Vol.28(2), pp.887-895
02/2020
DOI: 10.1007/s00520-019-04894-y
PMCID: PMC6893112
PMID: 31168710
url
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/6893112View
Open Access

Abstract

Health literacy (HL) and cancer care coordination (CCC) were examined for their relationship to quality of life (QOL) among breast cancer survivors. CCC was hypothesized to have a stronger relationship to QOL for women with lower HL. Women (N = 1138) who had completed treatment for Stage 0-III, ductal carcinoma breast cancer between January 2013 and May 2014 at one of eight large medical centers responded to a mailed questionnaire. Responses to questions about survivorship care planning and presence of professional care coordinator were combined to form an index of CCC. An index of HL was also derived. QOL was measured using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast (FACT-B) scales. 74.3% (N = 845) of patients reported having a health professional coordinate their care during treatment and 78.8% (N = 897) reported receiving survivorship care planning. CCC was classified as none, partial, or high for 7.1%, 32.7%, and 60.2% of the patients, respectively. Except for emotional well-being, the interaction between HL and CCC was significant for all QOL domains (p < .05); the effect of CCC on FACT-B scores was largest for people with lower HL. For the 39.8% of patients with less than high CCC, 111 (27.3%) had a level of HL associated with clinically meaningful lower QOL. The association between CCC and later QOL is strongest for people who have lower HL. Prioritizing care coordination for patients with lower health literacy may be an effective strategy in a setting of limited resources.
Cancer Survivors Breast Neoplasms - psychology Humans Middle Aged Female Surveys and Questionnaires Health Literacy - standards Quality of Life - psychology Survivorship

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