Evaluating A Patient-Led Health Literacy Program for People Living With Metastatic Breast Cancer.

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Health Literacy
• Patient Education

Background:

• Low cancer health literacy negatively impacts patient decision-making and outcomes in metastatic breast cancer (MBC).
• Effective health literacy interventions specifically for MBC patients are limited.
• Patient-led initiatives can address knowledge and self-efficacy gaps.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate a patient-led, virtual health literacy program designed to enhance MBC-specific knowledge and self-efficacy.
• To assess changes in self-efficacy for health decisions and knowledge levels pre- and post-intervention.
• To gather qualitative feedback for program refinement.

Main Methods:

• A mixed-methods, pre-post evaluation of a five-week virtual program ('Spinning Science') for adults with MBC.
• Surveys assessed self-efficacy and knowledge, with paired t-tests analyzing changes.
• Thematic analysis of open-ended responses identified program strengths and areas for improvement.

Main Results:

• Self-efficacy improved, with agreement with "I don't know enough to make my own medical decisions" decreasing from 43% to 13% (p<0.05).
• Knowledge gains were not statistically significant due to high baseline scores (ceiling effect).
• Post-program, over 80% reported increased confidence in self-advocacy, improved health literacy, and a stronger sense of community.

Conclusions:

• The patient-developed virtual health literacy program effectively improved self-efficacy in individuals with MBC.
• Participant feedback led to actionable refinements, demonstrating a responsive program model.
• This scalable, patient-led approach offers a viable pathway to enhance self-efficacy for cancer patients.