BUDDY PROGRAM FOR BREAST CANCER CLINICAL TRIALS

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DESCRIPTION: This pilot project aims to develop, evaluate and refine a buddy program for women who are eligible to participate in breast cancer clinical trials. Each potential recruit will be assigned a buddy--a volunteer who has already participated in a similar breast cancer clinical trial--to provide information and support through the decision-making process. The intent of the buddy program is to increase enrollment of women in breast cancer clinical trials, especially women of minority ethnicity and women with limited education. The pilot project has three phases: (1) develop protocols, and recruit and train 12 buddies (6 months); (2) implement the buddy program for 60 patients (l year); and (3) assess and refine the program (6 months). The buddy will meet with the patient in person at least once, and then be available as needed until the patient has reached a decision (average 2-5 weeks). She will reinforce, in lay terms, the information provided by health professionals and supplement it by describing her own personal experiences, both good and bad. This will help the patient to be better prepared for trial participation, not only cognitively, but also at the emotional level. Better preparation should in turn increase enrollment. After reaching a decision about the trial, participants will be interviewed about their experience in the buddy program, their utilization of the buddy, their assessment of the program's helpfulness, its impact on the clinical trial decision and decision-making process, and their suggestions for improving the program. Buddies will complete a written report on the same topics and participate in a final meeting to evaluate the program and make recommendations as a group. The information from this pilot project will inform refinements to the design of the buddy program. The program will then be ready for testing in a larger, randomized study of its effectiveness as a recruitment tool.