Impact of a mass media campaign (MMC) on awareness of and willingness to participate in cancer clinical trials (CCT): Results from 2,269 survey respondents

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Background: Annually, only 3% of patients (pt) participate in CCT. Accrual barriers include lack of CCT awareness and uncertain third party coverage. In 1/02, a California law (SB37) required all third party payers to reimburse pt care costs related to CCT. We sought to increase awareness of CCT/SB37 through a MMC, and assessed willingness to participate. Methods: Following a pre-MMC survey of 1,188 cancer pt and/or their caregivers’ awareness and willingness levels (JCO 2005; 23:9282–89), a TV/radio/print/internet MMC was conducted in a 9-county catchment area for UC Davis Cancer Center from 4/05–6/05. The MMC emphasized CCT/SB37 availability and used an iconic “Big C” logo. The survey was repeated post-MMC in two pt/caregiver cohorts: from the UC Davis Cancer Center catchment area (C1), and a control group from the UC San Diego area (C2) who did not see the MMC. Changes in CCT/SB37 awareness and willingness to participate were probed pre- vs. post-MMC and C1 vs. C2 by Pearson χ2 & logistic regression. Results: Of 2,269 respondents, 1,081 were post-MMC: 957 from C1 and 124 from C2. Post-MMC respondents differed from pre-MMC by respondent type (pt > caregivers), age (older), race (more blacks), and income (more $75k+/yr). Pre- vs. post-MMC, C1 respondents had greater awareness of CCT (59% to 65%, p < 0.01) and SB37 (17% vs. 32%, p < 0.01); no significant change was seen in C2. Adjustment for demographic variables in C1 resulted in p > 0.05 for CCT/SB37 awareness. Willingness to participate in CCT did not change pre- vs. post-MMC in C1 or C2. Awareness level predicted willingness (OR = 2.3, p < 0.01), but this was not true for the lowest income/education groups. Blacks/Asians/lowest income (< $25K/yr) groups were least willing to participate (p < 0.01/0.04/0.02). Conclusions: Although CCT/SB37 awareness increased in C1 following the MMC, it is unclear whether this was wholly attributable to the MMC due to varying demographic variables. Awareness of CCT/SB37 did not universally translate into willingness to participate in all subgroups. Enhancing pt willingness (to increase CCT accrual) will require targeting other variables, such as physician or resource barriers, rather than just CCT/SB37 awareness. (R21 CA-03501).

No significant financial relationships to disclose.