BACKGROUND Cancer-related cognitive decline (CRCD) is a significant problem; interventions are needed to mitigate CRCD for older adults. OBJECTIVE Our objective was to develop Memory and Attention Adaptation Training-Geriatrics (MAAT-G), a CRCD intervention for older adults, and evaluate MAAT-G usability. METHODS MAAT-G, is a cognitive behavioral therapy-based intervention delivered by a health professional over the course of ten weekly individual workshops via videoconferencing. To develop MAAT-G, the Contextual, Cohort-based, Maturity, Specific Challenge (CCMSC) framework was used for preliminary adaptations. Patient advocate collaborators guided further refinement, reviewing MAAT-G workshop content, participant workbook, and intervention delivery via videoconferencing to optimize relevance and usability for older adults. The usability of MAAT-G and its video-conferencing delivery was subsequently evaluated in 4 older adults with breast cancer using the System Usability Scale (SUS; score range 0-100, >67 above average) and through semi-structured qualitative interviews. RESULTS Numerous adaptations were made to address the unique needs of older patients using CCMSC framework and patient advocate feedback. Usability testing included four female patients with breast cancer; mean age 73.3 years (range 67-77). Patients were receiving systemic therapy (two adjuvant, two advanced stage disease). One patient had less than a high school education; three had some college education or more. Two patients identified as low-comfort with technology; one patient required a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot due to limited internet access. All four patients completed study procedures, including 10 MAAT-G workshop sessions (100% intervention adherence). Mean SUS score was 85.6, indicating good usability. CONCLUSIONS MAAT-G is a behavioral intervention developed to mitigate CRCD. It is designed specifically for older adults and showed above average usability in this population.
Kelly et al. (Mon,) studied this question.