Cancer and its treatment can significantly impact health-related quality of life (HRQOL), including psychosocial distress. This is particularly true for people with disabilities with breast cancer, an unrecognized health disparities population who already live with a thinner margin of health. People with the double whammy of pre-existing disability and breast cancer are at even greater risk for decreased physical well-being and HRQOL. One-to-one peer support has shown to be an effective way to address needed supports, and tailored mHealth technologies may offer a viable solution. OBJECTIVE: To build and pilot test a new mHealth support tool called ?iCanConnect?, which will enable one-to-one peer support between women with physical disabilities who recently have been diagnosed with breast cancer (mentees) with matched breast cancer survivor peers (mentors). ?I? represents the informatics component, ?can? represents both cancer and ability, and ?connect? is the purpose of the tool The goal of this study is to examine the preliminary efficacy of this support tool to improve the psychosocial wellbeing, social connectedness, treatment decision-making support, and HRQOL of women with existing physical disabilities who have been recently diagnosed with breast cancer. STUDY DESIGN: We will conduct our study in 4 distinct phases: During Phase 1, we will develop the collaborative capacity of the investigators and programs so that we acquire the skills and develop the organizational structure to conduct this work. During Phase 2, we will engage the disability and cancer communities. This includes a literature review, expert interviews (n=8), and patient focus groups (n=30) with the purpose exploring patient preferences and needs for supportive services, as well as potential barriers to mHealth use. During Phase 3, we will develop the iCanConnect intervention based on information gathered from the literature review, expert interviews, and focus groups. We will conduct usability test (n=10) and use the feedback to develop a more complete prototype to test in a small beta study (n=10). Finally, we will pilot test the complete tool with a small mixed sample of women (n=40) with pre-existing physical disabilities and recently diagnosed with cancer, to examine its feasibility, usability, acceptance, and satisfaction.
This proposed study will provide women with pre-existing physical disabilities and recently diagnosed with breast cancer with a wealth of needed support, and equip cancer treatment centers, especially those with fewer resources for tailored support for this population. This will support women with pre-existing physical conditions and breast cancer with their information, decision-making and support needs. This new tool has the potential to directly address cancer health disparities related to access, supportive care services, and patient engagement with this underserved population.
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