Oncologist perspectives on a novel geriatric assessment tool for older adults with cancer - The Comprehensive Health Assessment for My Plan (CHAMP): A multimethod study

INTRODUCTION: Geriatric assessment (GA) is recommended for all older adults with cancer considering treatment, yet its availability in cancer settings remains limited. To provide an accessible alternative to the GA, an electronic self-completed abbreviated GA (the Comprehensive Health Assessment for My Plan - CHAMP) tool was co-created with oncologists and patients. Oncologists receive their patient's results and recommendations, which they can use to inform patient care. As oncologists are key end-users of the tool, an understanding of their perspectives is essential to determine the tool's feasibility and acceptability in cancer care settings. For this, a study was conducted to answer the following questions: (1) How do oncologists use CHAMP to inform patient care? (2) How do oncologists describe their satisfaction with CHAMP? (3) What are the perspectives of oncologists about using CHAMP? MATERIALS AND METHODS: We employed a multimethod approach to answer the research questions. Phase one consisted of three separate surveys: a demographic survey, a post-tool survey, and a satisfaction survey. Phase two consisted of brief semi-structured interviews that elicited oncologist perspectives regarding CHAMP. Closed-ended survey responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics, while open-ended survey responses and interviews were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. RESULTS: Of the 53 oncologists approached, 44 (83.0%) consented to participate in the study. Amongst the sample (n = 44), medical oncologists (17, 38.6%) were the most common specialty. The CHAMP tool was considered at least somewhat helpful in 63.9% of cases and increased the confidence in decision-making in 44.4% of cases. In most cases (96.2%), the tool did not result in a change of the treatment plan. Overall, 90.0% of oncologists were satisfied with the tool. Fifteen oncologists participated in interviews, from which four main themes were identified: (1) insight into the patient, (2) barriers to tool use, (3) responsibility of implementing recommendations, and (4) optimizing the tool for practice. DISCUSSION: Oncologists were satisfied with the content of the CHAMP tool and provided suggestions (e.g., optimizing delivery, engagement of other clinicians) for its adoption into cancer care settings. Future work will aim to address suggestions and evaluate additional strategies to support the tool's adoption.