# Feasibility of a Remote Patient Video Education Intervention to Improve Care Coordination for Rural Cancer Patients

## TL;DR

A remote video education program for rural cancer patients in Hawaii was found to be feasible and well-received, though it had limited impact on overall care coordination.

## Contribution

This study introduces a novel remote video education intervention to improve care coordination for rural cancer patients.

## Key findings

- 71.4% of eligible patients completed all assessments, indicating the intervention was feasible.
- Participants showed improved communication domain scores in care coordination (Cohen’s d = -0.76).
- All participants reported high satisfaction with the tablet-based video education program.

## Abstract

Cancer patients residing in rural areas experience substantial barriers to care and suboptimal care coordination. To date, there is a paucity of interventions to improve care coordination for rural cancer patients. In this study, we conducted a pilot trial to assess the feasibility and efficacy of a remote, tablet-based patient video education intervention focused on cancer care coordination among rural patients in Hawaii. The pilot trial utilized a single-arm, pre-post intervention design. Our TED-talk style video education intervention included talks on cancer basics, care coordination, and self-advocacy. Eligible participants were rural patients newly diagnosed with early-stage cancer receiving adjuvant therapy. Validated instruments were administered at baseline and post-intervention to assess patients’ perceptions of care coordination and self-advocacy. Acceptability and satisfaction were assessed using semi-structured interviews. Descriptive statistics were used to describe study outcomes. From January 2022 to December 2022, 19 patients enrolled on the study; the mean age was 52.2. Participants were racially diverse. A total of 71.4% of eligible patients completed all assessments. No changes were observed in the overall perceptions of care coordination. However, improved scores were observed for the care coordination instrument communication domain (Cohen’s d =  − 0.76, 95% CI: − 1.45, − 0.03). There was a trend for improved scores on navigation and self-advocacy. All participants reported high satisfaction with the intervention. Results support the feasibility, satisfaction, and acceptability of this intervention among rural cancer patients in Hawaii. Further study is needed to evaluate the intervention in other rural areas. Clinical Trial Registration: NCT05162404.

Registration Date: 12/17/2021.