Clinical trial · Observational
Transitioning Care: Perspectives of Older Women With Early Breast Cancer on Current Telemedicine Modalities
- Source
- ClinicalTrials.gov
- Retrieved
- Sep 8, 2026
- Layer
- normalized (units and labels harmonized; values unchanged)
- Run
- ING-CLINICALTRIALS-20260908-000001
Summary
Brief summary (as posted)
Explosive growth in the use of telemedicine (video or telephone visits) has followed the onset of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in order to meet healthcare needs while avoiding unnecessary exposure risks in ambulatory care spaces. Accordingly, in March 2020, the Centers for Medicare \& Medicaid Services expanded reimbursement for telemedicine visits to equal that of in-person services. The policy and infrastructure that enabled this emergency transition is laying the groundwork for enduring expansion of elective telemedicine, a technology that could significantly decrease the burden of medical care in older patients with cancer. To benefit from telehealth, patients must have a certain level of knowledge and capacity to engage with technology, which can be a challenge for some older adults because of inexperience, access, and disability. As cancer is mainly a disease of older adults, with a median age of 65 at diagnosis for most cancer types, this is a significant limitation on the utility of telemedicine in oncology. The goal of our study is to better understand older breast cancer patients' experiences with telephone and video telemedicine with regard to visit convenience, completeness, and interpersonal satisfaction through semi-structured interviews with patients.
Conditions
Conditions (2)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
| Condition (as posted) | Mapped entity | Match | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Breast Cancer | Malignant Breast Neoplasm | CURATED_EXACT | 0.92 |
| Breast Cancer Female | Breast Neoplasm | PROBABILISTIC | 0.70 |
Interventions
Interventions (1)
| Intervention | Type | Mapped drug | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| Semistructured Interview | Behavioral | — | UNRESOLVED |
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (2)
- label
- Video Telemedicine
- description
- 20 participants will have used video telemedicine for appointments with their treating oncologist.
- interventionNames
- Behavioral: Semistructured Interview
- label
- Telephone Telemedicine
- description
- 10 participants will have used telephone telemedicine for appointments with their treating oncologist.
- interventionNames
- Behavioral: Semistructured Interview
Primary outcomes (1)
- measure
- Qualitative Summaries of Interviews about Participant Experience with Telemedicine
- timeFrame
- 3 months post study start
- description
- Qualitative Summaries derived from content analysis of semi-structured interview transcripts around themes and sub themes of convenience, psychosocial experience, baseline comfort with technology, preference for telephone vs. video visits, and desire to continue using telemedicine in the future.
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- Female
- Minimum age
- 65 Years
- Maximum age
- 110 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion Criteria: * female * age 65 or older * diagnosed with early breast cancer (Stage I-III) * completed primary treatment (surgery, chemotherapy, radiation treatment) * received in-person outpatient care at North Caroline Cancer Hospital before transitioning to telemedicine after March 2020 * providing written informed consent * able to understand and speak English. Exclusion Criteria: * Patients who do not meet the inclusion criteria stated above will be excluded. There will be no further exclusion criteria.
References
Publications (4)
- BACKGROUNDSirintrapun SJ, Lopez AM. Telemedicine in Cancer Care. Am Soc Clin Oncol Educ Book. 2018 May 23;38:540-545. doi: 10.1200/EDBK_200141. PMID 30231354
- BACKGROUNDEberly LA, Kallan MJ, Julien HM, Haynes N, Khatana SAM, Nathan AS, Snider C, Chokshi NP, Eneanya ND, Takvorian SU, Anastos-Wallen R, Chaiyachati K, Ambrose M, O'Quinn R, Seigerman M, Goldberg LR, Leri D, Choi K, Gitelman Y, Kolansky DM, Cappola TP, Ferrari VA, Hanson CW, Deleener ME, Adusumalli S. Patient Characteristics Associated With Telemedicine Access for Primary and Specialty Ambulatory Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic. JAMA Netw Open. 2020 Dec 1;3(12):e2031640. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.31640. PMID 33372974
- BACKGROUNDNarasimha S, Madathil KC, Agnisarman S, Rogers H, Welch B, Ashok A, Nair A, McElligott J. Designing Telemedicine Systems for Geriatric Patients: A Review of the Usability Studies. Telemed J E Health. 2017 Jun;23(6):459-472. doi: 10.1089/tmj.2016.0178. Epub 2016 Nov 22. PMID 27875667
- BACKGROUNDRowland JH, Bellizzi KM. Cancer survivorship issues: life after treatment and implications for an aging population. J Clin Oncol. 2014 Aug 20;32(24):2662-8. doi: 10.1200/JCO.2014.55.8361. Epub 2014 Jul 28. PMID 25071099