Testing a mobile health app to promote participation of Black women in breast cancer clinical trials.

Impact

Black women in the United States are much more likely to die from their breast cancer when compared to all other racial and ethnic groups. There are many factors influencing this disparity, including a lack of representation in clinical trials. Clinical trials are essential for advancing cancer treatments, improving survival, and providing access to new therapies; but results from clinical trials are not felt equitably when diverse groups are not represented in the patient enrollment. Research has shown that Black patients are just as willing to enroll in clinical trials when informed about them and asked to participate. Poor patient-provider communication and lack of culturally competent clinical trial information are two major factors that contribute to their underrepresentation in trials. Mobile health apps are transforming the way in which patients access health information and communicate with their care team and could address the clinical trial education and communication gaps experienced by Black patients. For her Conquer Cancer Advanced Clinical Research Award, supported by BCRF, Dr. Charlot and her team will develop, refine, and pilot test an app designed to prepare Black women with breast cancer to engage in discussions with their providers about clinical trials as a treatment option. 

Progress Thus Far

Dr. Charlot and team are using patient and community-based participatory research methods in developing and assessing the app, which means the app will be created with (not just for) Black women with breast cancer. In the past year the team established an advisory council of six Black women with breast cancer, ranging from the age of 35 to 77, to serve as research partners to engage in all aspects of the study. The study is called Sisters CREATE (Cancer Research Equity & Advocacy Through Engagement) and the advisory council members are known as the LEGACY Partners (Lived Experiences Guiding research advocacy). Together they developed an interview guide for the first part of this research study and have interviewed five out of the planned 20 women.  

What’s next

Together with the LEGACY Partners, the team plans to complete the interviews and leverage the information obtained from these conversations to guide the creation of the app. They will ultimately test the app in two cancer hospitals, and results from this pilot can be used to establish a larger multisite study.