Table 1. Baseline Participant Characteristics.
| Characteristics | Stepped palliative care (n = 250) | Early integrated palliative care (n = 257) |
|---|---|---|
| Age, mean (SD), y | 66.8 (9.2) | 66.1 (11.1) |
| No. (%) >75 | 43 (17.2) | 58 (22.6) |
| Women, No./total (%)a | 130/250 (52.0) | 130/256 (50.8) |
| Race, No. (%)b | n = 250 | n = 255 |
| African American or Black | 29 (11.6) | 28 (11.0) |
| American Indian or Alaska Native | 2 (0.8) | 2 (0.8) |
| Asian | 3 (1.2) | 5 (2.0) |
| Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander | 0 | 0 |
| White | 215 (86.0) | 212 (83.1) |
| Otherc | 3 (1.2) | 5 (2.0) |
| Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, No./total (%) | 3/243 (1.2) | 5/250 (2.0) |
| Religion, No. (%) | n = 246 | n = 249 |
| Catholic | 98 (39.8) | 91 (36.5) |
| Other Christian (eg, Protestant) | 97 (39.4) | 106 (42.6) |
| Jewish | 15 (6.1) | 13 (5.2) |
| Atheist | 0 | 3 (1.2) |
| Muslim | 0 | 2 (0.8) |
| None | 24 (9.8) | 28 (11.2) |
| Other | 12 (4.9) | 6 (2.4) |
| Relationship status, No. (%) | n = 247 | n = 252 |
| Married/partnered | 152 (61.5) | 176 (69.8) |
| Divorced/separated | 48 (19.4) | 25 (9.9) |
| Widowed/loss of partner | 30 (12.1) | 34 (13.5) |
| Single | 17 (6.9) | 17 (6.7) |
| Education, No. (%) | n = 244 | n = 248 |
| High school graduate or lower | 80 (32.8) | 78 (31.5) |
| Associate degree/technical school | 66 (27.0) | 59 (23.8) |
| College degree | 52 (21.3) | 55 (22.2) |
| Master’s, professional, or doctoral degree | 46 (18.9) | 56 (22.6) |
| Annual income, No. (%), $ | n = 221 | n = 225 |
| <25 000 | 42 (19.0) | 38 (16.9) |
| 25 000-49 999 | 49 (22.2) | 52 (23.1) |
| 50 000-99 999 | 63 (28.5) | 56 (24.9) |
| 100 000-149 999 | 27 (12.2) | 33 (14.7) |
| ≥150 000 | 40 (18.1) | 46 (20.4) |
| Smoking status, No. (%) | n = 232 | n = 228 |
| Current or former | 168 (72.4) | 146 (64.0) |
| Never or <10 pack-years | 64 (27.6) | 82 (36.0) |
| Cancer type, No. (%) | ||
| Non–small cell lung cancer | 194 (77.6) | 203 (79.0) |
| Small cell lung cancer | 53 (21.2) | 47 (18.3) |
| Mesothelioma | 3 (1.2) | 7 (2.7) |
| Cancer treatment, No. (%) | ||
| Platinum-based doublet chemotherapy | 128 (51.2) | 116 (45.1) |
| Radiation | 54 (21.6) | 38 (14.8) |
| Oral targeted chemotherapy | 40 (16.0) | 50 (19.5) |
| Immunotherapy | 22 (8.8) | 39 (15.2) |
| Single-agent intravenous chemotherapy | 3 (1.2) | 9 (3.5) |
| No treatment | 2 (0.8) | 4 (1.6) |
| Combined radiation and chemotherapy | 0 | 1 (0.4) |
| Other treatment | 1 (0.4) | 0 |
| Cancer gene variant status, No. (%) | ||
| EGFR | 37 (14.8) | 39 (15.2) |
| ALK | 11 (4.4) | 10 (3.9) |
| ROS | 3 (1.2) | 2 (0.8) |
| RET | 1 (0.4) | 2 (0.8) |
| Other or no gene variant | 198 (79.2) | 204 (79.4) |
| Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status, No. (%) | ||
| 0 (Fully active with no restrictions) | 61 (24.4) | 64 (24.9) |
| 1 (Able to do light work) | 153 (61.2) | 153 (59.5) |
| 2 (Unable to work and in bed <50% of the day) | 36 (14.4) | 40 (15.6) |
| Medical comorbidity (SCQ score), mean (SD)d | 8.6 (4.4) [n = 240] | 7.7 (4.0) [n = 247] |
| Quality of life (FACT-L score), mean (SD)e | 93.6 (19.4) [n = 250] | 95.7 (19.7) [n = 256] |
| Depression symptoms (PHQ-9 score), mean (SD)f | 6.6 (5.1) [n = 240] | 6.0 (4.9) [n = 246] |
| Coping skills (Brief COPE score), mean (SD)g | ||
| Approach-oriented coping | 17.7 (3.9) [n = 216] | 18.2 (3.7) [n = 220] |
| Avoidant coping | 6.0 (2.3) [n = 225] | 6.4 (2.6) [n = 228] |
| Perceptions of prognosis, No./total (%) | ||
| Perceives goal of therapy is to cure cancer | 80/237 (33.8) | 74/235 (31.5) |
| Perceives cancer is curable | 59/218 (27.1) | 54/224 (24.1) |
| End-of-life care communication, No./total (%) | 37/232 (15.9) | 23/239 (9.6) |
Gender was collected by self-report that allowed a single selection from a predetermined list: man, woman, or other/write-in. No participants selected other.
Race was collected by self-report that allowed multiple selections from a predetermined list, including an other/write-in option. Sum of percentages may exceed 100%.
Indicates participant selected other race. See eAppendix 3 in Supplement 3 for itemization.
Self-Administered Comorbidity Questionnaire (SCQ) score range, 0-36, with higher scores indicating greater comorbidity.
Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy–Lung Scale (FACT-L) score range, 0-136, with higher scores indicating better quality of life; minimum clinically important difference = 6.
Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9) score range, 0-27, with higher scores indicating more significant depression symptoms.
Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced Inventory (Brief COPE) scores: approach-oriented coping score range, 6-24, with higher scores indicating greater use of approach-oriented coping strategies; avoidant coping score range, 4-16, with higher scores indicating greater use of avoidant coping strategies.