# The role of patient experiences with care in older adult colorectal cancer patients with comorbid chronic conditions

> **NIH NIH F30** · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA · 2022 · $51,267

## Abstract

Project Summary
Older adults living with chronic conditions and diagnosed with colorectal cancer (CRC) experience substandard
cancer care, declines in care for their chronic conditions, and increased mortality relative to CRC patients with
no additional chronic conditions. Given compounded disparities in care for racial/ethnic minority patients, non-
white older adult CRC patients with comorbid chronic conditions experience even more disparate care and
outcomes. Yet, little has been done to systematically seek to improve care and outcomes for this vulnerable
patient group. One relatively simple solution may be to seek to optimize patients’ experiences with their care.
Patients reporting better experiences with their care have greater adherence to care, improved outcomes, and
decreased mortality amenable to healthcare. This research seeks to use Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End
Results (SEER)-Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) data to study the
associations between patient experiences and health care, outcomes, and costs in a racially and ethnically
diverse sample of older adult CRC patients with comorbid chronic conditions. Our specific aims are to
determine racial/ethnic differences in: 1) associations between patient experiences with care and changes in
chronic condition care use following CRC diagnosis in older adult patients; 2) effect modification of patient
experiences with care in the relationships between comorbidity status and receiving guideline CRC care and
CRC survivorship; and 3) associations between patient experiences with care and overall costs of care
following CRC diagnosis in patients with and without comorbid chronic conditions. We hypothesize that, in a
population-based and nationally representative cohort, older adult CRC patients with comorbid chronic
conditions will have better outcomes when experiences with care are highly-rated, and that there will be
disparities in these effects for racial/ethnic minority patients. Data for this research will come from the SEER-
CAHPS linked dataset, using a sample of Medicare fee-for-service CRC patients with comorbid congestive
heart failure, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or type 2 diabetes who
responded to a CAHPS patient experience survey. The findings of this research will inform how we might
optimize care for this vulnerable patient group and for the growing group of older adults with multimorbidity.
Completion of this project will be aligned with a fellowship training plan with the goals of: 1) training in
epidemiologic, health services, and health disparities research; 2) understanding multimorbidity in older adults
and health disparities in later life; and 3) integrated longitudinal clinical training in primary care for medically
underserved patients. This training will be conducted at the University of Southern California Keck School of
Medicine (KSOM) with the support of skilled research and clinical mentors, am...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10390140
- **Project number:** 1F30CA268735-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Stephanie Ariana Navarro
- **Activity code:** F30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $51,267
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-09-02 → 2026-09-01

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10390140

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10390140, The role of patient experiences with care in older adult colorectal cancer patients with comorbid chronic conditions (1F30CA268735-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10390140. Licensed CC0.

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