New Breast Cancer Approaches: Integration, Communication
Creators: name: University Of California Office Of The President
Publisher: name: University of California Office of the President
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/00dmfq477
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2024

description: Introduction: Researchers are continually developing new approaches to care for women with breast cancer. Many of these approaches may involve complicated technology, important medication choices, or genetic information about an individual woman's cancer. Doctors treating women with breast cancer must find ways to understand these new approaches and integrate them into their medical practice. Because these approaches are often technical in nature, it may be difficult for doctors to communicate well with their patients about new tests and treatments. Communication is a particular challenge in California where there is a wide range of cultures and languages, and where many breast cancer patients may not speak English very well.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Hypotheses: The central hypothesis of this research study is that breast cancer patients' access to new tests and treatments and doctor's communication with women about those new treatments can be improved through techniques designed to help doctors integrate new approaches into medical practice, and communicate with women about the new approaches. To do this, however, we must first understand the decision-making processes that doctors go through when there is new information available that is relevant to their patients. We must also understand what challenges doctors have communicating new information to their patients in general about new information, and any particular communication challenges they face when talking with women who do not speak English well.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Methodology: In this study we will first interview eight breast cancer doctors about their past experiences learning about and integrating into practice new tests and treatments for women with early-stage breast cancer, as well as about the challenges they have encountered communicating with breast cancer patients about this new information. Next we will use the information from the interviews to design a survey questionnaire to send to breast cancer doctors across California. The purpose of the survey will be two-fold: 1) to better understand the decision-making processes that doctors go through when they are deciding whether or not to incorporate new tests and treatments into their care of women with early-stage breast cancer; and 2) to better understand the communication challenges doctors face when talking with women in general about new tests and treatments, and specific communication challenges they encounter when treating women who do not speak English well.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Innovative elements: There are two novel aspects to this project. The first is that no one has yet studied the connection between breast cancer doctors' integration of new tests and treatments into practice and their communication with patients about those new tests and treatments. The second is that no one has tried to understand the specific difficulties that may arise when breast cancer doctors need to communicate with patients who don't speak English about new tests and treatments. The goal of this project is to understand and make connections between breast cancer doctors' integration of new tests and treatments and their communication with patients, particularly with those who do not speak English well.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Advocacy involvement: This project fits well with the National Breast Cancer Coalitions' Quality Care Initiative. Their initiative has six overlapping core values: Access, Information, Choice, Respect, Accountability, and Improvement. Our study seeks to: 1) improve access to new breast cancer tests and treatments by understanding how doctors integrate new information into practice; 2) improve communication of information about new tests and treatments with patients; thus 3) allowing women, including women who don't speak English well, more choice in their treatment. Quality communication requires doctors to respect their individual patients, and leads to accountability.