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Financial navigation: Staff perspectives on patients’ financial burden of cancer care

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A Correction to this article was published on 22 February 2022

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Abstract

Purpose

To describe perceptions of financial navigation staff concerning patients’ cancer-related financial burden.

Methods

This qualitative descriptive study used a semi-structured interview guide to examine perceptions of financial navigation staff concerning patients’ cancer-related financial burden. Staff who provided financial navigation support services to cancer patients were interviewed from different types of cancer programs across seven states representing rural, micropolitan, and urban settings. Interviews lasted approximately one hour, were audio recorded, and transcribed. Transcripts were double coded for thematic analysis.

Results

Thirty-five staff from 29 cancer centers were interviewed. The first theme involved communication issues related to patient and financial navigation staff expectations, timing and the sensitive nature of financial discussions. The second theme involved the multi-faceted impact of financial burden on patients, including stress, difficulty adhering to treatments, and challenges meeting basic, non-medical needs.

Conclusions and Implications for Cancer Survivors

Cancer-related financial burden has a profound impact on cancer survivors’ health and non-health outcomes. Discussions regarding cancer-related costs between cancer survivors and healthcare team members could help to normalize conversations and mitigate the multi-faceted determinants and effects of cancer-related financial burden. As treatment may span months and years and unexpected costs arise, having this discussion regularly and systematically is needed.

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Data availability

Data is being de-identified and can be made available upon publication.

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Funding

This publication is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award with 100 percent funded by CDC/HHS (Cooperative Agreement Number U48 DP006377, U48 DP006389, U48 DP006400, U48 DP006401, U48 DP006398, 3 U48 DP005030-01S5, 3 U48 DP005006-01S3, 3 U48 DP005014-01S2). The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Additionally, Dr. Davis was partially funded by a National Cancer Institute Career Development Award (K07CA211971), and Ms. Petermann was funded by the Cancer Control Education Program T32 (T32CA057726-27).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Katherine A. Yeager

  2. University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA

    Whitney E. Zahnd, Natoshia Askelson & Laura Seegmiller

  3. University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA

    Whitney E. Zahnd & Jan M. Eberth

  4. University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA

    Robin C. Vanderpool, Lindsay Stradtman & Jean Edward

  5. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Catherine Rohweder, Randall Teal, Maihan Vu, Victoria Petermann & Stephanie B Wheeler

  6. Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA

    Elizabeth L. Frost, Erika Trapl & Sarah Koopman Gonzalez

  7. University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Thuy Vu, Linda K. Ko & Allison Cole

  8. Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA

    Paige E. Farris, Jackilen Shannon & Melinda Davis

  9. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Arica White

Authors
  1. Katherine A. Yeager
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  2. Whitney E. Zahnd
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  4. Robin C. Vanderpool
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  7. Maihan Vu
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  8. Lindsay Stradtman
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  9. Elizabeth L. Frost
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  11. Sarah Koopman Gonzalez
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  13. Linda K. Ko
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  17. Natoshia Askelson
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  18. Laura Seegmiller
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  19. Arica White
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  20. Jean Edward
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  21. Melinda Davis
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  22. Victoria Petermann
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  23. Stephanie B Wheeler
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Contributions

Zahnd, Eberth, Vanderpool, Rohweder, Vu(T), Ko, Askelson, Petermann, Wheeler, Shannon, Davis, and Farris contributed to study concept and design. Zahnd, Eberth, Vanderpool, Rohweder, Stradtman, Frost, Trapl, Gonzalez, Vu (T), Ko, Cole, Askelson, Seegmiller, Petermann, Shannon, Davis, and Farris participated in data collection. Yeager, Teal, Vu (M) completed the data analysis. All authors contributed in drafting and revising the manuscript and approved the final version.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Katherine A. Yeager.

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The authors have no competing interests.

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Yeager, K.A., Zahnd, W.E., Eberth, J.M. et al. Financial navigation: Staff perspectives on patients’ financial burden of cancer care. J Cancer Surviv 17, 1461–1470 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11764-022-01175-2

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