Using a geriatric oncology assessment to link with services (GOAL).
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2019-01
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Geriatric screening tools assess functional limitations and inform clinical decision-making for older adults with cancer. Our objective was to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of a screener in community-based oncology clinics.Materials and methods
Eligible patients were from two rural, underserved community-based cancer clinics; within 12 months of a cancer diagnosis (breast, lung, colorectal, pancreas, esophageal); aged ≥60 years; and not exclusively pursuing palliative care. We used a previously validated tool that was embedded in the electronic health record (EHR). Patient-reported responses identified memory impairment, depressive symptoms, deficits in activities of daily living, poor nutrition, and polypharmacy. At the discretion of the oncologist, responses prompted service referrals. From the EHR, we extracted information about referrals and completion of planned therapy. We present descriptive statistics.Results
Enrolled patients (n = 44) had a mean age of 71.5 years (SD = 6.9). Most were non-white (61%), women (66%), with government-sponsored health insurance (80%). The most commonly identified geriatric syndromes: polypharmacy (89%), reduced quality of life (39%), and poor nutrition (39%). The screener triggered a referral in 98% of patients. Generated referrals were for depressive symptoms (52% needed, 39% received), nutrition (43% needed, 37% received), and polypharmacy (89% needed, 26% received). Patients were referred to social work (56%), nutrition (44%), and pharmacy (25%). Many patients completed planned radiation therapy (100%), surgery (70%), and chemotherapy (60%).Conclusions
Use of an EHR-embedded brief geriatric oncology assessment in rural oncology clinics identified geriatric syndromes that would benefit from provision of services in nearly all enrolled patients.Trial registration
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02906592.Type
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Zullig, Leah L, Gretchen Kimmick, Valerie Smith, Katie Little, Hayden B Bosworth, Sarah Gonzales, Megan M Oakes, Rebecca A Shelby, et al. (2019). Using a geriatric oncology assessment to link with services (GOAL). Journal of geriatric oncology, 10(1). pp. 164–168. 10.1016/j.jgo.2018.06.004 Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/33991.
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Leah L Zullig
Leah L. Zullig, PhD, MPH is a health services researcher and implementation scientist whose work focuses on accelerating the adoption of evidence-based practices to improve healthcare delivery and population health. She is a Professor in the Duke University Department of Population Health Sciences and an investigator with the Center of Innovation to Accelerate Discovery and Practice Transformation (ADAPT) at the Durham Veterans Affairs Health Care System.
Dr. Zullig is a recognized leader in implementation science. She directs INTERACT, the Implementation Science Research Collaborative, which fosters interdisciplinary collaborations across Duke University and with external partners to accelerate the translation of research into practice. She also leads the Dissemination and Implementation Catalyst within Duke's Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) program and serves as Co-Leader of the Duke Cancer Institute's Cancer Prevention and Control Research Program.
Dr. Zullig's research spans three interconnected areas: improving the quality and delivery of cancer care; advancing cancer survivorship and chronic disease management; and enhancing medication adherence. Across these domains, she applies implementation science methods to develop, evaluate, and scale evidence-based interventions that promote equitable, high-quality care across diverse healthcare settings. Her research is characterized by strong partnerships with healthcare systems, ensuring that findings extend beyond publication to inform clinical practice, health system transformation, and policy.
Dr. Zullig has authored more than 200 peer-reviewed publications and has established a national reputation for leading pragmatic, health system-embedded research that improves patient outcomes and advances the science of implementation.
Dr. Zullig earned her Bachelor of Science in Health Promotion, Master of Public Health in Public Health Administration, and PhD in Health Policy.
Gretchen Genevieve Kimmick
Breast cancer; treatment of breast cancer; management of menopausal symptoms in breast cancer survivors; survivorship issues after breast cancer; supportive care in managment of cancer patients; breast cancer and treatment of cancer in older persons; diagnosis and management of cancer in underserved populations.
Valerie A. Smith
Valerie A. Smith, DrPH, is a Professor in the Duke University Department of Population Health Sciences. Her methodological research interests include methods for semicontinuous and zero-inflated data, cost and utilization modeling, causal inference methods, observational study design, and longitudinal data analysis.
Dr. Smith works largely in collaboration with a multidisciplinary team of researchers, with a focus on health policy interventions, health care utilization and expenditure patterns, program and policy evaluation, bariatric surgery and obesity treatment evaluation, aging, and caregiving.
Areas of expertise: Biostatistics, Health Services Research, Health Economics, and Health Policy
Hayden Barry Bosworth
Dr. Bosworth is a health services researcher and Deputy Director of the Center of Innovation to Accelerate Discovery and Practice Transformation (ADAPT) at the Durham VA Medical Center. He is also Vice Chair of Education and Professor of Population Health Sciences. He is also a Professor of Medicine, Psychiatry, and Nursing at Duke University Medical Center and Adjunct Professor in Health Policy and Administration at the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His research interests comprise three overarching areas of research: 1) clinical research that provides knowledge for improving patients’ treatment adherence and self-management in chronic care; 2) translation research to improve access to quality of care; and 3) eliminate health care disparities.
Dr. Bosworth is the recipient of an American Heart Association established investigator award, the 2013 VA Undersecretary Award for Outstanding Achievement in Health Services Research (The annual award is the highest honor for VA health services researchers), and a VA Senior Career Scientist Award. In terms of self-management, Dr. Bosworth has expertise developing interventions to improve health behaviors related to hypertension, coronary artery disease, and depression, and has been developing and implementing tailored patient interventions to reduce the burden of other chronic diseases. These trials focus on motivating individuals to initiate health behaviors and sustaining them long term and use members of the healthcare team, particularly pharmacists and nurses. He has been the Principal Investigator of over 30 trials resulting in over 400 peer reviewed publications and four books. This work has been or is being implemented in multiple arenas including Medicaid of North Carolina, private payers, The United Kingdom National Health System Direct, Kaiser Health care system, and the Veterans Affairs.
Areas of Expertise: Health Behavior, Health Services Research, Implementation Science, Health Measurement, and Health Policy
Rebecca A Shelby
Rebecca Shelby, Ph.D. is a Professor with Tenure in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University and the Director of Education and Training for the Duke Cancer Patient Support Program. Dr. Shelby is a member of the Duke Pain Prevention and Treatment Research Program and the Duke Cancer Control and Population Sciences Program. Dr. Shelby completed her graduate training in clinical psychology at the Ohio State University and her clinical internship and postdoctoral fellowship at Duke University Medical Center. Her research focuses on developing and evaluating behavioral interventions for cancer patients, management of cancer pain and treatment side effects, and improving adherence to recommended care. Dr. Shelby serves on the Duke clinical psychology internship faculty and supervises clinical psychology fellows, interns, and clinical psychology graduate practicum students completing clinical rotations as part of the Duke Cancer Patient Support Program.
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