The long-term objective of this project is to identify underlying causes of Black-White differences in the likelihood of receiving definitive (potentially curative) therapy for prostate cancer (CaP) and treatment decision-making distress and regret. This knowledge is needed to design and implement interventions that will reduce racial gaps in CaP mortality and treatment decision-making distress and regret. Increasing the likelihood that Black men will receive definitive therapy when it is clinically appropriate is a critically important public health challenge. Black men are more than twice as likely to die from CaP as White men, with much of this difference attributable to Black-White differences in the receipt of definitive treatment. Recent evidence indicates that Black men are more likely to experience treatment decision-making difficulty and post-treatment decision regret. Both may stem from a common set of determinants that result in the breakdown of the treatment decision-making process for some Black men. The central hypothesis of the proposed study is that racial dynamics in the health care system result in Black men being less likely to receive definitive treatment, and more likely to experience decision-making difficulty, distress, and treatment decision regret. To test the central hypothesis we will execute three Specific Aims: 1) Identify race-related variability in the factors that influence CaP treatment decision-making;2) assess Black-White differences in CaP treatment decision-making distress, and identify determinants of these differences;and 3) assess Black-White differences in CaP post-treatment decision regret, and identify determinants of these differences. Over the course of three years, approximately 589 non-Hispanic Black (28% of sample) and 1517 non-Hispanic White men diagnosed with clinically localized CaP will be accrued in the study. They will be recruited from four major medical centers. After participants have decided how to treat their cancer, but before they have received treatment, participants will complete a self-administered mail-in paper-and-pencil survey that will inquire into their treatment choice and treatment decision-making process. At their 6-week, 1-year and 2-year post-treatment clinic visits they will also complete questionnaires inquiring into their quality of life and post-treatment decision regret. Little is known about factors that could lead to a breakdown in the CaP treatment decision-making process for Black men. The proposed study will be the first to test whether racial dynamics shown to be common in other health care domains (e.g., Black-White differences in the likelihood of having experienced racial discrimination in health care settings, physician distrust, and racial differences in patient involvement in treatment decision-making, and satisfaction with health care) contribute to Black-White differences in receipt of definitive therapy and treatment decision-making distress and regret.

Public Health Relevance

Not only do Black men suffer higher mortality from prostate cancer than White men, they are less likely to receive curative therapy and they may be more likely to experience treatment decision-making distress and regret. The proposed research will test whether these differences emerge from a pattern of racial dynamics (e.g., past experiences of discrimination, low trust in physicians, and less involvement in treatment-decisions) that have been shown to be widespread among Blacks and to impair medical care. Identifying why Black men are disproportionately less likely to receive clinically appropriate prostate cancer care and experience more decision-making difficulty and regret will provide a necessary understanding for developing and implementing interventions that will ultimately reduce racial differences in prostate cancer mortality and prostate cancer- associated distress.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
1R01CA152425-01
Application #
7949788
Study Section
Health Services Organization and Delivery Study Section (HSOD)
Program Officer
Shavers, Vickie L
Project Start
2010-08-01
Project End
2015-05-31
Budget Start
2010-08-01
Budget End
2011-05-31
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2010
Total Cost
$586,806
Indirect Cost
Name
Roswell Park Cancer Institute Corp
Department
Type
DUNS #
824771034
City
Buffalo
State
NY
Country
United States
Zip Code
14263
Orom, Heather; Underwood 3rd, Willie; Cheng, Zinan et al. (2018) Relationships as Medicine: Quality of the Physician-Patient Relationship Determines Physician Influence on Treatment Recommendation Adherence. Health Serv Res 53:580-596
Orom, Heather; Biddle, Caitlin; Underwood 3rd, Willie et al. (2018) Racial or Ethnic and Socioeconomic Disparities in Prostate Cancer Survivors' Prostate-specific Quality of Life. Urology 112:132-137
Moses, Kelvin A; Orom, Heather; Brasel, Alicia et al. (2017) Racial/Ethnic Disparity in Treatment for Prostate Cancer: Does Cancer Severity Matter? Urology 99:76-83
Orom, Heather; Underwood 3rd, Willie; Biddle, Caitlin (2017) Emotional Distress Increases the Likelihood of Undergoing Surgery among Men with Localized Prostate Cancer. J Urol 197:350-355
Orom, Heather; Biddle, Caitlin; Underwood 3rd, Willie et al. (2016) What Is a ""Good"" Treatment Decision? Decisional Control, Knowledge, Treatment Decision Making, and Quality of Life in Men with Clinically Localized Prostate Cancer. Med Decis Making 36:714-25
Mollica, Michelle A; Underwood 3rd, Willie; Homish, Gregory G et al. (2016) Spirituality is associated with better prostate cancer treatment decision making experiences. J Behav Med 39:161-9
Moses, Kelvin A; Orom, Heather; Brasel, Alicia et al. (2016) Racial/ethnic differences in the relative risk of receipt of specific treatment among men with prostate cancer. Urol Oncol 34:415.e7-415.e12
Orom, Heather; Sharma, Chaman; Homish, Gregory G et al. (2016) Racial Discrimination and Stigma Consciousness Are Associated with Higher Blood Pressure and Hypertension in Minority Men. J Racial Ethn Health Disparities :
Orom, Heather; Nelson, Christian J; Underwood 3rd, Willie et al. (2015) Factors associated with emotional distress in newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients. Psychooncology 24:1416-22
Orom, Heather; Underwood 3rd, Willie; Homish, D Lynn et al. (2015) Prostate cancer survivors' beliefs about screening and treatment decision-making experiences in an era of controversy. Psychooncology 24:1073-9

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