The Attitudes, Communication, Treatment and Support Intervention to Reduce Breast Cancer Treatment Disparity (ACTS)

University of Pittsburgh

Status: Completed

Conditions: Breast Cancer

Treatments: Behavioral: ACTS Intervention; Behavioral: Usual Care

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT01184066

706367

RSGT-09-150-01 CPHPS (Other Grant/Funding Number)

Details and patient eligibility

About

The ACTS (Attitudes, Communication, Treatment, Support) Intervention is a onetime, intensive psycho-educational intervention using a race-matched breast cancer survivor interventionist to: address Attitudes, including perceptions and stressors, that may impact adherence to clinical visits and treatment; encourage and model patient Communication with health care providers regarding physical and emotional needs, with attention to race-discordant situations; and provide tailored, understandable information about Treatment and its rationale. The Support component is threaded throughout the intervention via the presence of a race-matched breast cancer survivor and supportive video messages from the black community.

Full description

The 5-year survival after a first diagnosis of breast cancer is 13% lower in black than in white American women, an alarming disparity that cannot be explained by stage of disease at presentation. Nonadherence to breast cancer treatment and treatment delays from diagnosis to initiation of treatment may be among the reasons for worse breast cancer outcomes in black women. This recognition is critical because it suggests that breast cancer survival disparity can be decreased through clinical interventions that increase adherence to chemotherapy. The ACTS (Attitudes, Communication, Treatment, Support) Intervention is a onetime, intensive psycho-educational intervention using a race-matched breast cancer survivor interventionist to: address Attitudes, including perceptions and stressors, that may impact adherence to clinical visits and treatment; encourage and model patient Communication with health care providers regarding physical and emotional needs, with attention to race-discordant situations; and provide tailored, understandable information about Treatment and its rationale. The Support component is threaded throughout the intervention via the presence of a race-matched breast cancer survivor and supportive video messages from the black community. This study is a randomized controlled trial that will test the efficacy of the ACTS Intervention vs. Usual Care on the primary outcomes of adherence to recommended breast cancer chemotherapy.

Enrollment: 141 patients

Sex: Female

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• African American, as determined by patient self report on their demographic form completed at first medical oncology visit
• Female
• Age 18 or older
• Diagnosed with invasive breast cancer
• Recommended (prescribed) chemotherapy by participating medical oncologists

Exclusion criteria

• Impaired cognition, as determined by a score of less than 22 on the Mini Mental Status Exam
• An inability to understand English

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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141 participants in 2 patient groups

ACTS Intervention

Experimental group

Description:

The intervention arm are the women who received the ACTS Intervention. It is a 45 minute intervention provided by a breast cancer survivor. The intervention includes a discussion of the patient's attitudes towards chemotherapy, communication strategies with providers, the recommended treatment in accordance with tumor size and tumor characteristics

Treatment:

Behavioral: ACTS Intervention

Usual Care

Active Comparator group

Description:

This group receives care as usual.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Usual Care