Description

Patients with breast cancer on their left undergo treatment such as radiation and chemotherapy and as a result, some are at risk for cardiotoxicity. Cardiotoxicity is damage to the heart muscle which can occur as a result of cancer treatment. This can affect the function of the heart and lead to cardiovascular complications or cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death among cancer survivors, and it is imperative that patients understand their risks associated with treatment. Minority older adults that are limited English proficient (LEP) face additional barriers when seeking access to care such as language barriers which can negatively impact patient-provider communication leading to sub-optimal care outcomes. The persistence of cardiotoxicity in cancer survivors, even more among minority and under-represented populations, demonstrates there is an insufficient understanding of the needs of this high-risk population. Our goal was to assess patient understanding of risks among older LEP adults. We are presenting the results of our iterative development of a bilingual cardiotoxicity semi-structured interview guide that we developed using the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation and Behavior (COM-B) model for pre-implementation. Our study was approved by the UCSD IRB. We employed evidence-based methods to consider our study measures and conducted cognitive testing with a Latina cancer survivor and oncologists to ensure the guide was appropriate, further we then utilized dual-forward translation and adjudication for ensuring an accurate transcreation into Spanish. We present our study and translation protocol; patient accrual begins this spring. Findings from our data will help to inform organizations about strategies that can be used to improve patient activation in treatment planning for recently diagnosed patients at risk of cardiotoxicity.