Introduction

COVID-19 has resulted in reliance on telecommunication technologies for the provision of supportive cancer care. However, research on the use of these resources among older adults, who are the majority of cancer survivors, is limited. The objective of this study was to gather information on older cancer survivors' perspectives and use of telehealth their cancer survivorship care in the United States.

Materials and Methods

Potential participants were recruited through ResearchMatch® from December 2020–January 2021. Online semi-structured interviews were conducted. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the participants' demographic and health characteristics. Content analysis were conducted by two independent coders for identification of common themes. Coding agreement was reached through consensus, and count comparisons of participant responses were made.

Results

The majority of respondents (n = 21; mean age = 73.5 ± 4.9) were female (57%), White (90%), and had a variety of cancer diagnoses. Participants reported using a variety of technology devices and telehealth products. Older cancer survivors (n = 10) endorsed telehealth video use for physical health concerns and basic check-ups, but some (n = 4) preferred in-person visits for major concerns and sensitive issues (e.g., mental health). Half of participants reported mobile health app use; however, ten participants did not use these apps as they felt the technology was not useful. Barriers to health technology use included missing face-to-face connections with providers, lack of familiarity with the technology, and perceived lack of utility and personalized telehealth platforms. Lastly, video-based conferencing and social media site use among seventeen participants was reported for social interaction during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Discussion

These findings suggest that older cancer survivors utilize online platforms for their general health; however, they prefer in-person visits for serious issues and value personalization with telehealth. Despite from a highly educated sample of ResearchMatch® participants, these results can be used to inform clinicians and researchers about the appropriateness and provision of telehealth-based supportive care among older cancer survivors.

中文翻译：

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美国老年癌症幸存者的观点和远程医疗在癌症幸存者护理中的应用：ResearchMatch® 样本

介绍

COVID-19 导致依赖电信技术来提供支持性癌症护理。然而，关于在癌症幸存者中占大多数的老年人中使用这些资源的研究是有限的。本研究的目的是收集有关美国老年癌症幸存者的观点和远程医疗在他们的癌症幸存者护理中的使用情况的信息。

材料和方法

从 2020 年 12 月至 2021 年 1 月，通过 ResearchMatch® 招募了潜在参与者。进行了在线半结构化访谈。描述性统计用于分析参与者的人口统计和健康特征。内容分析由两名独立编码员进行，以识别共同主题。通过共识达成编码协议，并对参与者的反应进行计数比较。

结果

大多数受访者（n = 21；平均年龄 = 73.5 ± 4.9）是女性 (57%)、白人 (90%)，并且有多种癌症诊断。参与者报告使用了各种技术设备和远程医疗产品。年长的癌症幸存者 (n = 10) 赞成使用远程医疗视频来解决身体健康问题和基本检查，但一些 (n = 4) 更喜欢亲自就诊来解决主要问题和敏感问题（例如心理健康）。一半的参与者报告了移动健康应用程序的使用情况；但是，有 10 名参与者没有使用这些应用程序，因为他们认为该技术没有用。卫生技术使用的障碍包括缺少与提供者的面对面联系、对技术不熟悉以及认为缺乏实​​用性和个性化的远程医疗平台。最后，

讨论

这些发现表明，年长的癌症幸存者利用在线平台来维持他们的整体健康；但是，他们更喜欢亲自就诊以解决严重问题，并且重视远程医疗的个性化服务。尽管来自受过高等教育的 ResearchMatch® 参与者样本，但这些结果可用于告知临床医生和研究人员有关老年癌症幸存者中基于远程医疗的支持性护理的适当性和提供情况。