Investigating the Role of Transportation Barriers in Cancer Patients' Decision Making Regarding the Treatment Process
Investigating the Role of Transportation Barriers in Cancer Patients' Decision Making Regarding the Treatment Process
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DOI：
10.1177/0361198121991497
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发表时间：
2021-06-01
影响因子：
1.7
通讯作者：
Mozaffarian, Ladan
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Etminani-Ghasrodashti, Roya;Kan, Chen;Mozaffarian, Ladan
交通障碍可能导致重新安排或错过预约，从而影响患者的治疗结果。然而，运输障碍对停止癌症治疗的影响在文献中仍然未知。本研究旨在调查癌症患者的旅行行为与他们停止或继续治疗的决定之间的关联。在这项研究中，一个在线调查的癌症患者接受放疗和化疗的设计和进行。研究人员提出了综合性问题，以揭示影响参与者决策的个人和治疗相关因素，包括他们的旅行行为、旅行负担、治疗特征和副作用。根据调查收集的数据，机器学习模型进一步用于定量评估影响患者决策的因素。结果表明，缺乏交通工具对癌症患者停止或继续治疗的决定有重大影响。私人车辆的使用受到限制，可能导致放射治疗的停止。此外，前往照顾者的次数及时间长短亦会影响病人是否继续或退出化疗。这项研究中产生的见解具有很大的潜力，可以帮助政策制定者和规划者做出明智的决定，以提高癌症患者获得治疗的机会并改善他们的健康状况。
Transportation barriers to healthcare access may lead to rescheduled or missed appointments, thereby influencing patients' treatment outcomes. However, the impact of transportation barriers on stopping cancer treatments remains unknown in the literature. This study aims to investigate the association between cancer patients' travel behavior and their decisions about stopping or continuing treatments. In this study, an online survey was designed and conducted for cancer patients who received radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Comprehensive questions were asked to reveal personal- and treatment-related factors that affect participants' decisions, including their travel behavior, travel burden, treatment characteristics, and side effects. With data collected from the survey, machine learning models were further employed to quantitatively assess the factors contributing to patients' decision making. Results suggest that lack of access to transportation has a significant impact on cancer patients' decisions with respect to stopping or continuing treatments. Limited access to private vehicles will likely lead to the stopping of radiotherapy. In addition, trip frequency and trip length to caregivers influence the patients' continuing or quitting chemotherapy. Insights generated in this study have great potential to help policy makers and planners make informed decisions to enhance cancer patients' access to treatments and improve their health outcomes.