Abstract 890: Survey results of lung cancer screening patient experiences and satisfaction
Authors: Reyes Monica E. , Perez-Morales Jaileene , Pathak Rashmi , Sulbaran Ada , Gillard Tiffany J. , Tolbert Haley , Tirbene Rajwantee , Gray Jhanelle , Simmons Vani N. , Quinn Gwendolyn P. , Schabath Matthew B. 
Published: July 2021

Background: In 2014, Moffitt Cancer Center (MCC) in Tampa, Florida launched a lung cancer screening program for high-risk individuals meeting USPSTF inclusion criteria. To reveal successes and potential limitations of this program, we conducted a survey to measure lung cancer screening patient experiences and satisfaction.

Methods: In August 2020, a survey was mailed to 576 patients who completed one or more lung cancer screenings at MCC. The survey collected demographics and smoking history and measured patient satisfaction and experiences in 6 domains: the appointment process, clinical staff interactions, communication, visit with the provider, screening results and cost, and the clinic facility/overall satisfaction. There were also questions on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. A 5-point Likert scale was used to measure satisfaction with clinical staff and clinic facility/overall satisfaction (1= excellent to 5= poor) and other domains (1=strongly agree to 5=strongly disagree). Results were quantified using descriptive statistics.

Results: Among the 160 patients that completed the survey, 96.3% were White, 93.1% were non-Hispanic, 46.9% were female, 78.1% were former smokers, and the mean age was 69 years. For the appointment process, 91.2% “strongly agreed/agreed” it was easy to make an appointment and 92.5% “strongly agreed/agreed” the clinic check-in process was efficient. Next, nearly 93% reported the courtesy of the clinical staff was “excellent/very good”. For communication, while 90% “strongly agreed/agreed” that the lung cancer screening process was clearly explained, 63.2% “strongly agreed/agreed” that the potential harms and limitations were clearly explained and 71.2% “strongly agreed/agreed” that the process for follow-up screening was clearly explained. For the provider questions, 71.3% “strongly agreed/agreed” that the provider was willing to listen carefully and 66.3% “strongly agreed/agreed” that the instructions regarding follow-up were easy to understand. For results and costs, 79.4% “strongly agreed/agreed” the screening results were clearly explained and 70% “strongly agreed/agreed” that the cost of the screening was justified. Regarding overall satisfaction, 87.6% “strongly agreed/agreed” they would recommend lung cancer screening at MCC. Finally, 10.6% of patients were concerned about getting a lung cancer screening during the COVID-19 pandemic and only 8.1% reported that the COVID-19 pandemic prevented them from getting a lung cancer screening.

Conclusion: Generally, for all 6 domains, patients reported favorable satisfaction and experience with lung cancer screening at MCC. However, higher rates of “neither agree/disagree” and “prefer not to answer” were observed for items related to communication and visit with the provider items suggesting improvements may be warranted, particularly related to future visits.

Citation Format: Monica E. Reyes, Jaileene Perez-Morales, Rashmi Pathak, Ada Sulbaran, Tiffany J. Gillard, Haley Tolbert, Rajwantee Tirbene, Jhanelle Gray, Vani N. Simmons, Gwendolyn P. Quinn, Matthew B. Schabath. Survey results of lung cancer screening patient experiences and satisfaction [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2021; 2021 Apr 10-15 and May 17-21. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(13_Suppl):Abstract nr 890.