Stephenson Cancer Center - Cancer Center Support Grant

The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly altered nearly every facet of daily life. Although social and physicaldistancing constraints appear to be slowing the spread of the disease, they may be adversely affecting cancer-related preventive behaviors and accessibility to medical services, including cancer treatment. The impact ofsuch COVID-19 restrictions must be quantified to understand and mitigate short- and long-term effects acrossthe cancer continuum, especially among vulnerable populations, including American Indian adults. The goal ofthis study is to explore how differences in demographics (e.g., age, sex, educational attainment) may impactengagement in cancer preventive behaviors (e.g., tobacco cessation, cancer screening) and cancermanagement/survivorship behaviors (e.g., access to cancer treatment services) in the context of COVID-19restrictions (e.g., social distancing, alterations in work arrangements) by surveying a sample of 1,000 AmericanIndian adults, including those who have never had cancer, cancer patients and cancer survivors. This study willbe conducted by the Stephenson Cancer Center Community Outreach and Engagement (COE) program inclose coordination with three American Indian tribal nations, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Chickasaw Nation,and Cherokee Nation, and the Oklahoma Area Tribal Epidemiology Center. This goal will be achieved bycompleting three specific aims: (1) to develop and administer a survey exploring the impact of COVID-19restrictions on cancer prevention and control behaviors. This survey will include a core set of common dataelements that will be administered by several NCI-designated Cancer Centers to increase the depth andgeneralizability of findings; (2) to develop an accurate and robust data integration method using novel machinelearning and propensity score weighting approaches to improve the representativeness of the sample ofAmerican Indian adults that will be drawn in Oklahoma; and (3) to analyze data to inform tribes, healthcaredelivery systems serving American Indian patients, and Stephenson Cancer Center research programmembers and clinicians regarding how American Indian adults are being impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.Findings will be used to inform interventions and policies aimed at mitigating the cancer-relevant effects ofCOVID-19 restrictions in a highly vulnerable group residing within the Stephenson Cancer Center catchmentarea of Oklahoma. Future iterations of the survey to monitor trends over time are planned. A timeline ofCOVID-19 related guidance, restrictions or regulatory mandates that have been enacted at the national, stateand tribal levels will be constructed to form a context that will allow for meaningful interpretation of findings bytribal community leaders and researchers.