Optimizing veteran-centered prostate cancer survivorship care: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Health Services Research
• Gerontology

Background:

• Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among veterans in the Veterans Health Administration (VA).
• There is a need to improve patient-centered survivorship care for this population.
• Current survivorship care for veteran prostate cancer survivors requires enhancement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To address the need for improved patient-centered survivorship care for veterans with prostate cancer.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of the "Building Your New Normal" program.
• To optimize the quality of care and life for veteran prostate cancer survivors.

Main Methods:

• A two-armed randomized controlled trial (RCT) with 600 prostate cancer survivors recruited from four VA sites.
• Comparison of a tailored automated telephone symptom management intervention versus usual care with a newsletter.
• Primary outcomes include symptom burden, bother, and health services utilization at 5 and 12 months; secondary outcomes include psychosocial factors.

Main Results:

• Intervention group participants are hypothesized to have improved symptom self-management and quality of life.
• Outcomes are expected to translate to more efficient health services utilization.
• Multivariable regression analysis will be used to evaluate intervention impact.

Conclusions:

• The study will provide crucial information on optimizing care quality for veteran prostate cancer survivors.
• Findings will inform the broader implementation and dissemination of effective survivorship interventions.
• Enhanced symptom self-management is key to improving veteran prostate cancer survivorship.