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Patient-centered financial navigation assistance helps reduce financial toxicity among cancer patients

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Patient-centered financial navigation assistance helps reduce financial toxicity among cancer patients

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Among cancer patients, the high financial cost of cancer care is a prevalent problem. This financial burden is also associated with potentially harmful behavioral strategies that patients might use to cope with costs, such as delaying or forgoing treatment and skipping medications. Collectively, researchers refer to this impact as financial toxicity.

On Oct. 16, UNC Lineberger's Stephanie B. Wheeler, Ph.D., MPH, presented results from a clinical trial of a financial navigation intervention aimed at helping adult cancer patients navigate the costs of cancer care more effectively. The results, presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Quality Care Symposium, show that the intervention, called Lessening the Impact of Financial Toxicity (LIFT), significantly reduced financial toxicity experienced by patients in the study.

The results were published simultaneously with the Oct. 16 presentation in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

The clinical trial was conducted at eight oncology practice sites in North Carolina: four rural sites and four nonrural sites. A total of 179 patients received the intervention and 134 stayed in the study until its completion. Each patient was screened for financial toxicity by completing a Comprehensive Score for Financial Toxicity (FACIT-COST) survey. Only patients who screened positive for financial toxicity on this survey were eligible to receive the intervention.

LIFT financial navigation included an intake appointment lasting 45 minutes to one hour to gather information about each patient's unique financial and insurance situation to determine their eligibility for specific financial assistance resources.


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