| Environmental Context |
Environmental restrictions in rural communities reduce patient willingness to participate in clinical trials. |
They’re driving two and half hours to get here. The last thing they want is more stuff. And they’re having to drive here more than they want to anyway, and they lose a whole day just by coming to the doctor, they don’t want to be bothered.
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| Resources |
Trial referrals require additional human resources practices cannot attain on their own. |
I think we have a good group of urologists here that are very interested in doing what’s going to be best for that patient and the patient population. If it’s good for them…it’s a no brainer, but we do need to have the personnel. First of all, we have to be made aware of the trial, who’s going to fit into it, and then have the personnel to get it going. “
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| Trial referrals require informational resources. |
I would do trials and I would try to push patients for trials.but we just need the resources. And I’m not asking for money for me, I’m just asking for resources. Well, if you had a CD or somebody talking directly to the patient and explaining things.I think that would be a good way to get information to the patient. You can always give them literature, but I’m not sure they read it, but they might be more apt to play a video and get the information that way. |
| Use of internal resources for trial referrals should be incentivized. |
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| Social Influences |
Urologists are willing to refer patients to cancer centers and physicians who are trustworthy. |
I send them to [university]..they’re now one of the noted oncology places in America. I have no problem with that. As long as I know them. Like Dr., Dr., Dr….those guys are good and I respect them, I have no trouble sending patients to them. |
| Urologists rely on opportunities provided by usual referral partners |
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| Urologists prefer that to receive trial information directly from trial investigators. |
I really do think it’s getting the people that are involved in developing the clinical trial in front of urologists themselves…maybe just when they developed a new one.talking to them and basically selling their clinical trial to that doctor so that doctor, one, believes in it and, two, wants to recommend it to their patients. I think that’s probably more important than anything else… That’s what I think would work best, if when a new trial became available…whoever’s starting it, if they came and actually got his time, talked to him and said if you have any patients for the next three months, six months.this is something that we’re trying to get started, and just tell him what it is and what it’s about. That would probably be the best thing. |
| Urologists are influenced by patient reactions to their recommendation as well as their knowledge of and perceptions toward clinical trials in general. |
The majority of patients who perceive their cancer to be unlikely to be quickly life threatening are less open to clinical trials. The prostate cancer patients on average are the least open to clinical trials in my experience, and I would also say that there are some people who just don’t want to do something that’s not proven.
Half of the patients in this area at least (are)…mostly farmers and I don’t how much they can comprehend and know unless we really tell them point blank what they’re going to go through, so.that could be one of the obstacles. A lot of them have this idea when they hear it that, oh, the next greatest cure is just around the corner, and this is it. And I have one patient that sticks in my mind for sure because he got in there, and he was excited, and he got the control, and he was upset about it. The majority around here are on limited incomesand are going to say.what am I going to have to pay out of my pocket?
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| Family members influence the referral processes. |
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