Abstract P5-09-10: Preferences in educational topics of interest for women with breast cancer: Does income level influence topic preferences?
Authors: Swiger KD , Guglielmino JE , Labban JD , Rugo HS , Domchek SM , Anders CK , Nelson HCM , Hanson AA , Dinerman H , Henry CC 
Published: May 2016

Purpose: To ensure that people with breast cancer receive materials and programs that fit their needs for education, information, and support by identifying clinical, treatment, demographic, socioeconomic, and emotional characteristics targeting their specific needs and concerns.

Respondents and Methods: Women diagnosed with breast cancer responded to an online 80-question survey to identify educational and support needs. Participants self-reported income level and were asked to rate their level of interest in 35 educational topics, including treatment issues and practical, financial, and psychosocial concerns. Potential ratings were "Not Interested," "Interested," and "Very Interested." This analysis examined whether income level was associated with interest level in these topics. Interest ratings were collapsed into "Not Interested and "Very Interested or Interested." Contingency tables were generated, and phi coefficients were calculated to determine bivariate association. A false discovery rate adjustment was applied to the significance threshold (p &lt; .021) to account for multiple comparisons.

Results: The response rate for each item/topic was approximately 75.1% (2,625/3,496). Topics that received high levels of interest, regardless of income, included prevention of other illnesses after cancer and new treatment and research. However, higher income was negatively associated with interest in clinical trials (p &lt; .01), dating (p &lt; .001), pain management (p &lt; .001), and health insurance (p &lt; .001). It was positively associated with interest in sexuality (p &lt; .001) and parenting issues (p = .02).

Conclusions: Income can be a determining factor in women's preferences for breast cancer educational topics. Women across all income levels agree that prevention of other illnesses after cancer and staying informed about new treatments and research are of great interest, but topic preferences for women with incomes of &lt;$50k annually differed from those with higher income levels. In this analysis, lower income women were more interested in clinical trials, dating, pain management, and health insurance, and were less interested than women with higher incomes in sexuality and parenting issues. Lower income women are often diagnosed with higher staged cancers and have poorer outcomes overall. They may have less access to information about the clinical trials process and be less likely to ask about trial availability. Marginal insurance may drive their interest in pain management since they have fewer resources to manage their discomfort and other treatment side effects. Understanding the unique educational needs of lower income women and developing interventions targeted to address them could encourage greater participation in clinical trials for which they would qualify, appropriate pain management and enhanced access to resources to alleviate insurance concerns. Attention should be paid to differences in the educational needs of lower income women. Empowering them by meeting these needs could enhance quality of life and may improve overall outcomes.

Citation Format: Swiger KD, Guglielmino JE, Labban JD, Rugo HS, Domchek SM, Anders CK, Nelson HCM, Hanson AA, Dinerman H, Henry CC. Preferences in educational topics of interest for women with breast cancer: Does income level influence topic preferences?. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Thirty-Eighth Annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium: 2015 Dec 8-12; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P5-09-10.