DISCO: Discussions of Cost

The DISCO study is a health equity-focused multi-level intervention to improve the frequency and quality of patient-provider discussions of cancer treatment costs and other patient outcomes. The effectiveness of the patient-facing intervention, the DISCO App, is currently being tested in a randomized controlled trial in several outpatient oncology clinics within the Karmanos Cancer Institute. This five-year trial is funded by the American Cancer Society.

The provider-facing intervention, Hey DISCO, is being built and tested in a study funded by a Karmanos Cancer Institute's Strategic Research Initiative Grant.

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Related Links

Pilot findings can be found here.

Information on the design and development of the DISCO App can be found here and here.

A description of the ACS-funded trial protocol can be found here.

A video demonstration of the DISCO App can be found here.

Published Papers

2022

E Hamel LM, Dougherty DW, Mabunda L, *Tadesse E, *Hill R, *Ghanshani S, & Eggly S. How do you DISCO? Developing and implementing the Discussions of Cost App to reduce financial toxicity and improve treatment cost communication. Oncol Issues. 2022; 37: 23-31.

Hamel LM, Dougherty DW, Hastert TA, Seymour EK, Kim S, Assad H, Phalore J, Soulliere R, & Eggly S. The DISCO App: A pilot test of a multi-level intervention to reduce the financial burden of cancer through improved cost communication. PEC Innovation. 2022; 1:100002.

2021

Hamel LM, Dougherty DW, Kim S, Heath, EI, Mabunda L, Tadesse E, Hill R, & Eggly S. DISCO App: Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial to test the effectiveness of a patient intervention to reduce the financial burden of cancer in a diverse patient population. BMC Trials. 2021; 22: 636-653. PMID: 34535162

2019

2016

Hamel LM, Thompson HS, Albrecht TL, & Harper FWK. Designing and testing apps to support patients with cancer: look to behavioral science to lead the way. JMIR Cancer 2019; 5: e12317. PMID: 31066691

Hamel LM, Penner LA, Eggly S, Chapman R, Klamerus JF, Simon MS, *Stanton SE, Albrecht TL. Do patients and oncologists discuss the cost of cancer treatment? An observational study of clinical interactions between African American patients and their oncologists. J Oncol Pract 2017; 13:194;e249-e259. PMID: 27960067