By Caleb White | Date published: July 12, 2024
Kriti Mittal and PROTEUS Advisory Group Discuss Strategies on Improving Use of Patient Reported Outcomes in Underserved Cancer Populations
Patient reported outcomes (PROs) are self-reports from patients describing how they feel, function, and live. Reported outcomes include symptoms, functional conditions, well-being, and overall quality of life, which are reported directly by the patient without any external interpretation. To assess PROs, researchers and clinicians use standardized PRO measures (PROMs), which are routinely collected to monitor individual patients and inform their clinical care. Using PROs in clinical practice has been shown to improve patient care and health outcomes.
In a recent research letter published in The Patient, investigators identified key barriers and potential solutions for implementing PROs in vulnerable and underserved cancer populations in the U.S. These populations are defined as groups denied the full opportunity to participate in aspects of social and economic life, thus facing several obstacles to health care services. Kriti Mittal, MD, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Hematology/Oncology, co-authored the letter as one of 29 members of an advisory group convened by the PROTEUS Consortium. “There are often gaps between clinicians’ and patients’ perceptions of quality of life from cancer therapies,” said Dr. Mittal. “As a clinical investigator in Genitourinary Oncology, I lead several clinical trials where patient reported outcomes are routinely assessed, allowing patients to have a voice in outcome measures.”
The PROTEUS Consortium aims to promote patient-centered care by helping patients, researchers, and clinicians implement PROs in clinical trials and practice. The Consortium organized the advisory group in collaboration with Pfizer to develop strategies for promoting the implementation of PROs in institutions caring for underserved cancer populations. “I joined the PROTEUS Consortium's advisory group to share experiences from our safety net site, and to contribute to the development of a framework that would allow representation of patient perspective to become part of standard of care,” said Dr. Mittal. “We hope to expand upon this work soon.”
The advisory group identified several barriers to implementing PROs for underserved cancer patients and discussed various solutions which included sharing toolkits and best practices for addressing the needs of different populations, showing stakeholders and patients the value of PROs, and developing partnerships among patient advocates, health workers, and other organizations caring for vulnerable and underserved populations.