Financial Navigation Program to Improve Understanding and Management of Financial Aspects of Cancer Care for Patients and Their Spouses

Running, not enrolling · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Hematopoietic and Lymphoid Cell Neoplasm, Metastatic Malignant Solid Neoplasm, Recurrent Malignant Solid Neoplasm

In brief

This clinical trial examines a financial navigation program in helping patients (and their spouses or partner caregivers, if participating) understand and better manage the financial aspects of cancer care. Cancer patients and their spouse/partner caregivers may be at high risk for financial problems because of the cost of cancer treatment. A financial navigator is a person or team who works with patients and their families to help them reduce stress or hardship related to the cost of cancer treatment. Financial navigators help patients understand their out-of-pocket expenses and what their health insurance plans may cover. Financial navigation may also help patients set up payment plans, find cost-saving methods for treatments, and improve access to healthcare services that the patient needs. Providing financial navigation to patients may help reduce financial worries and improve quality of life.

Key facts

Study ID: NCT04960787
Run by: SWOG Cancer Research Network
People needed: 331
Starts: 2021-10-12
Expected to finish: 2026-10-01
Last updated by the study team: 2026-05-14

Who can join

Age: 18 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.

You may qualify if…

Patients must have a diagnosis of a metastatic solid tumor or a hematologic malignancy and must receive anti-cancer treatment (i.e. chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, targeted therapy, biologic therapy, immune therapy, bone marrow transplant). Registration must occur within 180 days after diagnosis of metastatic or stage IV solid tumor or treatment-requiring hematologic malignancy. Patients with indolent hematologic diseases undergoing observation alone are not eligible; patients with previously diagnosed hematologic cancers progressed to the point of requiring systemic therapy are eligible, so long as the progression occurred within the previous 180 days. Biopsy confirmation of metastatic disease is not required
Patients with recurrent solid tumors will be allowed as long as 1) this is the first presentation of metastatic disease and 2) the diagnosis of the metastasis is at least 180 days (6 months) after the diagnosis date of the previous earlier stage cancer
Patients with a history of secondary malignancy are allowed as long as they were not diagnosed within the previous 24 months, are not on active therapy, and are disease-free. Patients with adequately treated basal cell or squamous cell skin cancer, and in situ cervical cancer at any point prior to enrollment are eligible
Patients who have started anti-cancer treatment for the current diagnosis must have started within 90 days prior to registration
Patients who are planning to start anti-cancer treatment for the current diagnosis must start within (=<) 30 days after registration
Patients are allowed to be co-enrolled on other clinical trials (including non-treatment studies and studies that may or may not include investigational drugs)
Patients must be at least 18 years of age
Patients must have a Zubrod performance status of 0-2
Patients must complete the baseline patient reported outcomes (PRO) questionnaires prior to registration and must be able to complete questionnaires in English or Spanish
Patients must provide their full name, primary address in the United States (U.S.), birth date and social security number at registration for the purposes of accessing credit report data. (This may be obtained directly from the patient, study questionnaires, or the medical record)
Patients must provide email and/or telephone number for the purposes of being contacted by financial navigators Spouse/partner caregiver participation is optional.
Spouse/partner caregiver must be living in the same household as the eligible patient and be either legally married, in a common law marriage, or be an intimate partner/significant other of the participant*
Spouse/partner caregivers must be at least 18 years of age
Spouse/partner caregivers must provide their full name, primary address in the U.S., birth date and social security number at registration for the purposes of accessing credit report data
Spouse/partner caregivers must provide email and/or telephone number for the purposes of being contacted by the financial navigators
Spouse/partner caregivers must be able to complete questionnaires in English or Spanish and must complete the baseline questionnaires prior to patient registration
The study team acknowledges that other types of caregivers may also face financial hardship following a patient's cancer diagnosis and may similarly benefit from financial education and navigation. The decision to focus solely on spouse or partner caregivers was scientific, to understand how caregivers who share household finances experience financial hardship.
Participants (patients and caregivers, when participating) must sign and give written informed consent in accordance with institutional and federal guidelines. Use of legally-authorized representative is not permissible for this study. Documentation of informed consent via remote consent is permissible
As a part of the Oncology Patient Enrollment Network (OPEN) registration process the treating institution's identity is provided in order to ensure that the current (within 365 days) date of institutional review board approval for this study has been entered in the system

You may not qualify if…

Patients may not be enrolled in hospice care at the time of registration
Non-spouse/partner caregivers such as friends, adult children, parents, or other relatives living in the same household as the patient are not eligible

Where it is running

Mercy Hospital Fort Smith — Fort Smith, Arkansas, United States
Kaiser Permanente-Deer Valley Medical Center — Antioch, California, United States
Epic Care-Dublin — Dublin, California, United States
Kaiser Permanente Dublin — Dublin, California, United States
Epic Care Partners in Cancer Care — Emeryville, California, United States
Kaiser Permanente-Fremont — Fremont, California, United States
Kaiser Permanente-Fresno — Fresno, California, United States
Contra Costa Regional Medical Center — Martinez, California, United States
Kaiser Permanente-Modesto — Modesto, California, United States
Kaiser Permanente-Oakland — Oakland, California, United States
Kaiser Permanente- Marshall Medical Offices — Redwood City, California, United States
Kaiser Permanente-Richmond — Richmond, California, United States
Kaiser Permanente-Roseville — Roseville, California, United States
Kaiser Permanente Downtown Commons — Sacramento, California, United States
Kaiser Permanente-South Sacramento — Sacramento, California, United States
Kaiser Permanente-San Francisco — San Francisco, California, United States
Kaiser Permanente-Santa Teresa-San Jose — San Jose, California, United States
Kaiser Permanente San Leandro — San Leandro, California, United States
Kaiser San Rafael-Gallinas — San Rafael, California, United States
Kaiser Permanente Medical Center - Santa Clara — Santa Clara, California, United States
Kaiser Permanente-Santa Rosa — Santa Rosa, California, United States
Kaiser Permanente-South San Francisco — South San Francisco, California, United States
Kaiser Permanente-Stockton — Stockton, California, United States
Kaiser Permanente Medical Center-Vacaville — Vacaville, California, United States
Fairbanks Memorial Hospital — Fairbanks, Alaska, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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