Project CARE: CAncer Risk Evaluation

Anita Y. Kinney, PhD, RN210 enrolled

Overview

The purpose of Project CARE (cancer risk assessment and evaluation) research study is to explore the acceptance and feasibility of a study-initiated proactive outreach and digital care delivery model for conducting hereditary cancer risk assessment in primary care settings and facilitating genetic risk evaluation for patients flagged as high risk. Potential participants will be recruited from Rutgers Health primary care sites (family practice and general internal medicine). EPIC will be used to identify all potential participants and they will be invited to participate in the study. Consented participants will be provided a link via email, and or text message to engage with a Relational Agent (RA, chatbot), through the patient portal for cancer risk assessment and genetic education. Those identified as high risk will be offered genetic counseling and testing. The research questions the study aims to answer are: 1. What percent of patients who completed the RA are identified as high risk? 2. What percent of patients who engaged with the risk assessment were identified as high risk? 3. What percent of high-risk patients had genetic counseling or genetic testing within 4 months of completing the risk assessment?

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

Purpose

SCREENING

Masking

NONE

Enrollment

210

Conditions

Primary Care

Interventions

Relational Agent ( RA) AlexBEHAVIORAL

The intervention is an RA (chatbot) integrated into a genetic care delivery portal for primary care patients. The RA provides hereditary cancer education and risk evaluation through an interactive interface. Primary care patients will use the RA to complete questionnaires about their hereditary cancer risk, track their progress through the education component and assessment process, and obtain downloadable summaries of their cancer risk and family tree. Additionally, the chat feature stores past conversations, and a menu guides participants through key steps.

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 YearsMax age: 70 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria 1. Age 18 to 70 years 2. Able to read and speak English 3. Have an email address or mobile phone number in EPIC and/or are enrolled in MyChart 4. Receiving health care in Family Medicine or General Internal Medicine at Rutgers Health within the past 2 years 5. Have not opted out of receiving research-related communications 6. Have internet access (via smartphone, tablet, or computer) Exclusion Criteria 1. Dementia (e.g., Alzheimer's disease) as indicated in EPIC 2. Unable to access the Internet (via smartphone, tablet, or computer) 3. Previous germline genetic testing for hereditary cancer risk 4. Opted out of research participation in EPIC 5. Have a personal history of cancer

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Proportion of Patients Completing the Hereditary Cancer Risk Assessment

The proportion of patients who successfully complete the hereditary cancer risk assessment within the genetic care delivery portal. Completion is defined as receiving a final result statement, regardless of whether all assessment questions in the risk assessment module were answered.

Time frame: Up to 3 months from enrollment

Proportion of Patients Identified as High Risk

The percent of patients who completed the RA and are identified as high risk.

Time frame: Through study completion, an average of 12 months.

Secondary Outcomes

RA Engagement Rate

The number of patients invited to participate in the study who engaged with the RA link by clicking on the introductory response, divided by the total number of patients invited to the study, multiplied by 100.

Time frame: Up to 3 months from enrollment

Retention Rate of High-risk Participants at 1-Month

The number of high-risk participants who complete the 1-month follow-up survey divided by the number of high-risk participants, multiplied by 100.

Time frame: 1-month post high-risk identification

Satisfaction with the Risk Assessment Feature of the Relational Agent

Participant satisfaction will be assessed using a two-item questionnaire (Relational Agent Satisfaction Scale, adapted), with each item rated on a 1-5 scale (1 = very dissatisfied; 5 = very satisfied). Higher scores indicate greater satisfaction.