The intervention group will have three face-to-face meetings with the promotora. Participant will continue to receive the standard of care for his or her oncologic diagnosis as determined by his or her treating oncologist over the course of the study. During the study period, all participants will complete baseline, interim and exit surveys covering demographics, quality of life and pain management. Information pertaining to hospitalizations and emergency room visits will be obtained from their medical records and public health records.

Participant will receive the standard of care for his or her oncologic diagnosis as determined by his or her treating oncologist over the course of the study. During the study period, all participants will complete baseline, interim and exit surveys covering demographics, quality of life and pain management. Information pertaining to hospitalizations and emergency room visits will be obtained from their medical records and public health records.

If the patient is in the intervention group, the promotora will call the patient in order to invite them to a meeting. Meetings will be arranged by the promotora and the patients. A total of 2 group meetings will be required by all participants and 1 family meeting.

Intervention (Promotora)

Christina Bracamontes, MS

Despite being strongly recommended, the integration of palliative care in oncology has not been widely adopted. Very few people have access to comprehensive palliative care. Access is even lower in rural and Hispanic communities. Even in communities with access, uptake is often low due to a lack of education on the part of both patients and providers regarding palliative care. This study aims to use an innovative approach to provide quality palliative care to oncology Hispanic patients by using community health workers also known as promotoras.

Palliative care has been highly recommended to be an integral part of oncology yet very few people have access to comprehensive palliative care. Access is even lower in rural, low socio-economic and Hispanic communities. Palliative care has been shown to decrease healthcare costs. This study will use an innovative approach to provide quality palliative care to gynecology-oncology Hispanic patients by using community health workers also known as promotoras. The promotora model has been shown to be successful in several behavioral modification programs. The investigators aim to use promotoras to deliver a comprehensive and culturally sensitive educational intervention that covers self-care in the presence of cancer, advance directives, pain management, and care taker awareness. The goal of the intervention will be to decrease number of emergency department visits and hospital admissions of patients with advanced cancer, and increase the rate of completion of advanced directives, as well as improve overall quality of life (as measured by standardized scales) when comparing the intervention group vs. the control (usual care) group. The investigators will additionally assess the cost effectiveness of this intervention.

With Love: Using Promotoras for a Hispanic Community Palliative Care Promotora Palliative Care

With Love: Using Promotoras for a Hispanic Community Palliative Care Intervention - A Pilot Study (Promotora Palliative)

Patient Health Questionnaire -9 (PHQ-9); the score can range from 0 - 27; the lower score indicates a better outcome

Functional Assessment Chronic Illness Therapy (FACIT)-Palliative care (Pal), score range 0-184, a higher score means a better outcome.

Frequency of visits will be analyzed as an intent-to-treat analysis

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, El Paso

The intervention group will have three face-to-face meetings with the promotora. Participant will continue to receive the standard of care for his or her oncologic diagnosis as determined by his or her treating oncologist over the course of the study. During the study period, all participants will complete baseline, interim and exit surveys covering demographics, quality of life and pain management. Information pertaining to hospitalizations and emergency room visits will be obtained from their medical records and public health records.

Intervention (Promotora): If the patient is in the intervention group, the promotora will call the patient in order to invite them to a meeting. Meetings will be arranged by the promotora and the patients. A total of 2 group meetings will be required by all participants and 1 family meeting.

Self-Education (Control)

Total

Age, Continuous

Sex: Female, Male

Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)

United States

Region of Enrollment

No Schooling

Primary School

High School

College

Vocational School

University, College

Education

Married

Single, never married

Divorced/ separated

Widowed

Marital Status

Head

Chest

Abdomen

Wrist

Knees

Neck

Upper Back

Lower Back

Upper Arms/ Shoulders

All questions were voluntary. If a participant refused to answer, they were able to skip the question.

Pain

Associate Director of Ob/Gyn Research

Baseline

Study Completion

Patient Health Questionnaire - 9 (PHQ-9)

Data was only analyzed for participants who completed both the survey at both timepoints (baseline and completion).

Spots Global Cancer Trial Database for intervention (promotora)