Veteran Satisfaction With Lung Cancer Screening Care: A Cross-Sectional Evaluation.

Area of Science:

• Healthcare disparities
• Public health
• Oncology

Background:

• Lung cancer screening aims to reduce mortality through early detection.
• Assessing patient satisfaction is crucial for evaluating healthcare quality.
• Rural populations may face unique challenges accessing and experiencing healthcare services.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare lung cancer screening care satisfaction between Veterans in rural and nonrural settings.
• To identify factors associated with satisfaction in lung cancer screening.

Main Methods:

• Surveyed Veterans undergoing lung cancer screening using the Patient Satisfaction with Cancer Care (PSCC) scale.
• Analyzed data using t-tests and linear regression to assess associations between rurality, demographics, smoking status, and care satisfaction.
• Fisher exact test examined rurality and smoking status associations with individual survey items.

Main Results:

• No significant difference in overall care satisfaction was found between rural and nonrural Veterans.
• Currently smoking Veterans reported significantly lower satisfaction with lung cancer screening care.
• High agreement on respectful treatment (93.6%), but lower agreement on understanding next care steps (65.2%).

Conclusions:

• Rural and nonrural Veterans experience comparable satisfaction with lung cancer screening.
• Smoking status is a key factor influencing patient satisfaction in lung cancer screening.
• Improving patient understanding of screening processes and communication is essential.