Missing Voices: Increasing Black Women’s Engagement in Patient Reported Outcomes in Breast Cancer Treatment

The imPROVE study aims to bridge the gap in patient-reported outcomes (PRO) data for Black women with breast cancer by enhancing engagement with tailored electronic PROs (ePROs) and partnering with community leaders to address barriers and ensure accessibility and relevance in community cancer care settings. In this episode, CANCER BUZZ speaks with Manraj Kaur, PhD, investigator and lead faculty for research and innovation at Patient-Reported Outcomes, Value, and Experience (PROVE) center at Mass General Brigham and Andrea Pusic, MD, chief of division of plastic and reconstructive surgery, director of PROVE center at Mass General Brigham, and professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School about the imPROVE study’s efforts to enhance Black women’s engagement in ePROs in breast cancer treatment.  Dr. Kaur sheds light on strategies to improve technology accessibility for Black women in their cancer care center by providing iPads and refined usability features on the imPROVE app. Dr. Pusic highlights imPROVE implementation results at five community cancer centers, including utilizing local champions and equitable access to resources.

“When we make sure Black women are included, we gain a more accurate picture of health, we can design better care, and then we take a real step towards closing the health equity gap.” – Manraj Kaur

“The imPROVE study is all about increasing accessibility of patient-reported outcome measurements to Black breast cancer patients receiving care in community cancer centers.” – Andrea Pusic

Manraj Kaur, PhD  

Investigator, Lead Faculty for Research and Innovation Patient-Reported Outcomes Value Experience (PROVE) Center 

Brigham and Women’s Hospital 

Boston, MA 

Andrea Pusic, MD 

Chief of Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery 

Director, PROVE Center 

Brigham and Women’s Hospital 

Professor of Surgery 

Harvard Medical School 

Boston, MA 

Resources:

ACCC imPROVE Study Blog - https://www.accc-cancer.org/acccbuzz/blog-post-template/accc-buzz/2024/06/18/the-power-of-patient-reported-outcome-measures-to-community-cancer-centers?

Harvard/BWH PROVE Center - https://prove.bwh.harvard.edu/current_project/improve-breast-cancer-care/