Haynes David, Trempe Eric, Iwan Allison, Osegueda Eduardo, Sarkin Courtney, Cross Dori, Begnaud Abbie, Newcomer Kris, Parsons Helen M, Mandic Pinar Karaca
Institute for Health Informatics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
Xanthos Health, Inc, Dudley Avenue, Saint Paul, MN, USA.
Support Care Cancer. 2025 Jun 5;33(7):539. doi: 10.1007/s00520-025-09523-5.
Over 8 million patients experiencing cancer face health-related social needs (HRSN) challenges, such as food, housing, and financial insecurity, that directly impact their health outcomes. While patients may participate in the screening of unmet social needs with their healthcare provider, it is not well understood if patients will self-screen and act on referrals to community services. Therefore, we conducted a mixed-methods study in which we pilot-tested a patient-centered oncology-focused digital social care referral platform, ConnectedNest.
We recruited 13 cancer-focused community-based organizations (CBOs) and 41 individuals (e.g., patients, survivors, and caregivers) affected by cancer to participate in the study. Individuals used the application on their phones for 3 months. They completed a social needs assessment and were provided with a personalized list of local CBO programs that could address these unmet needs. Quantitative analyses described participant HRSN and connections to referred programs. User experience surveys were collected over 30 and 60 days to understand their experience. Individuals were also invited to participate in an a semi-structured interview to understand barriers and facilitators for social care referrals.
Participants reported needs across 14 categories, with an average of 4.5 HRSN per participants. The top 3 reported needs were physical activity, financial strain, and mental health. Using our social care referral platform, approximately 39% of participants were able to connect with local CBOs. Three topic areas emerged from the participant interviews, highlighting that personal motivation, the participant's role, and the interest in services affected the participant's use of the technology.
This study demonstrates the potential for digital social care referral platforms to bridge individuals affected by cancer with vital CBO resources to address HRSNs.
超过800万癌症患者面临与健康相关的社会需求（HRSN）挑战，如食品、住房和经济不安全等，这些直接影响他们的健康结果。虽然患者可能会与医疗服务提供者一起参与未满足社会需求的筛查，但对于患者是否会自行筛查并根据转介到社区服务的建议采取行动，目前还了解得不够充分。因此，我们开展了一项混合方法研究，对以患者为中心、专注肿瘤学的数字社会护理转介平台ConnectedNest进行了试点测试。
我们招募了13个专注癌症的社区组织（CBO）和41名受癌症影响的个人（如患者、幸存者和护理人员）参与研究。个人在手机上使用该应用程序3个月。他们完成了一项社会需求评估，并获得了一份当地CBO项目的个性化清单，这些项目可以满足这些未满足的需求。定量分析描述了参与者的HRSN以及与转介项目的联系。在30天和60天内收集用户体验调查，以了解他们的体验。还邀请个人参加半结构化访谈，以了解社会护理转介的障碍和促进因素。
参与者报告了14个类别的需求，每位参与者平均有4.5项HRSN。报告最多的前三项需求是体育活动、经济压力和心理健康。使用我们的社会护理转介平台，约39%的参与者能够与当地CBO建立联系。参与者访谈中出现了三个主题领域，突出表明个人动机、参与者的角色以及对服务的兴趣影响了参与者对该技术的使用。
本研究证明了数字社会护理转介平台有潜力将受癌症影响的个人与重要的CBO资源联系起来，以满足HRSN。
