Table.
Baseline Characteristics of the Study Participantsa
| Group, No. (%) |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Variable | Usual Care (n = 67) |
Intervention (n = 69) |
P valueb |
| Age, mean (SD), y | 57.8 (14.7) | 55.1 (13.1) | .16 |
| Female | 37 (55) | 39 (57) | >.99 |
| Race | |||
| White | 20 (30) | 23 (34) | |
| Black | 15 (23) | 18 (27) | |
| Asian | 2 (3) | 4 (6) | .80 |
| American Indian or Alaskan Native | 2 (3) | 1 (1) | |
| >1 Race | 2 (3) | 1 (1) | |
| Other | 25 (38) | 20 (30) | |
| Hispanic or Latino | 29 (43) | 20 (29) | .08 |
| Education | |||
| High school or less | 36 (54) | 32 (46) | .49 |
| College or more | 31 (46) | 37 (54) | |
| Income, $ | |||
| <50 000 | 41 (61) | 41 (62) | |
| ≥50 000 | 15 (22) | 19 (29) | .37 |
| Do not know | 11 (16) | 6 (9) | |
| Health care proxy | |||
| No | 26 (39) | 29 (42) | |
| Yes | 34 (51) | 37 (54) | .45 |
| Do not know | 7 (10) | 3 (4) | |
| Living will | |||
| No | 51 (76) | 47 (68) | |
| Yes | 13 (19) | 19 (28) | .48 |
| Do not know | 3 (5) | 3 (4) | |
| Has insurance | 65 (97) | 67 (97) | >.99 |
| Cancer type | |||
| Breast | 7 (10) | 9 (13) | |
| Colorectal | 7 (10) | 9 (13) | .53 |
| Lung | 10 (15) | 5 (7) | |
| Other | 43 (64) | 46 (67) | |
| Mood outcome, No./total No. (%) | |||
| Major depressive disorderc | 19 of 65 (29) | 24 of 69 (35) | .12 |
| Quality of life, total No.d | 67 | 68 | |
| FACT-G scores, mean (SD) | 59.82 (16.77) | 53.56 (19.61) | .06 |
Abbreviation: FACT-G, Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General Measure.
Plus-minus values are reported as means (SDs). Percentages may not total 100% because of rounding. Variables are self-reported with the exception of cancer type, which was taken from the electronic medical record during the eligibility screening process.
P values were calculated with the use of 2-sided Fisher exact tests for categorical variables and the Wilcoxon rank tests for continuous variables.
The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) is a 9-item measure that evaluates symptoms of major depressive disorder according to the criteria of the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Major depressive disorder was coded as a binary variable (yes/no). A major depressive disorder was noted if a patient reported at least 5 of the 9 symptoms of depression on the PHQ-9, with 1 of the 5 symptoms being depressed mood or a lack of pleasure. Symptoms had to be present for more than half the time over the past 2 weeks, except for the symptom of suicidal thoughts, which was included in the notation of major depressive disorder, if it was present at any time.
Quality of life was assessed by the use of the measure FACT-G, on which scores range from 0 to 108, with higher scores indicating a better quality of life.