# Examining the determinants and consequences of supportive care medication use disparities in patients with pancreatic cancer: A sequential mixed-methods approach

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA · 2024 · $514,964

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Pancreatic cancer (PC) is a significant public health issue and is the third leading cause of cancer deaths in the
U.S. PC is associated with significant neurologic and psychiatric morbidities, which are associated with reduced
health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Supportive care medications (SCM) are the foundation to managing PC-
related neurologic and psychiatric symptoms and thus improving HRQoL. Multiple PC studies have
demonstrated worsened HRQoL in racial/ethnic minorities. Prior research evaluating the impact of race/ethnicity
on SCM use in cancer indicated that racial/ethnic minorities were less likely to be prescribed several types of
SCM. However, the studies did not assess the contextual-level social determinants of health (SDoH), the quality
of SCM used, nor the impact of social or cultural factors on SCM use. Thus, to our knowledge, no research has
examined causal paths of racial disparities in SCM use in PC, or assessed their impact on HRQoL, leaving
significant knowledge gaps. The long-term goal of our research is to optimize medication use and improve
HRQoL in patients with cancer. The overall objectives of this application are to (i) elucidate the relationship
between race/ethnicity and other sociodemographic factors and the use of SCM, (ii) evaluate if there are
differences in the quality of SCM between racial/ethnic groups, and (iii) describe the sociocultural and
psychosocial factors that influence SCM use in racial/ethnic minorities. The central hypothesis motivating this
research is that racial/ethnic disparities in SCM use exist in PC, and contribute to HRQoL racial disparities in
patients with PC. The rationale for this project is that there is a critical need to understand SCM use disparities
across racial/ethnic minorities, and identify potential drivers. The central hypothesis will be tested by pursuing
three specific aims: (1) Derive a sociobehavioral phenotype that explains SCM use disparities in racial and ethnic
minorities with PC; (2) Determine how SCM sociobehavioral phenotype, SCM use, and race influence HRQoL
and (3) Identify facilitators of and barriers to SCM use in patients with PC. For aims 1-2, we will use quantitative
methods to determine population-level racial/ethnic health care disparities from analysis of the NCI SEER-
Medicare, and SEER-Medicare Health Outcomes Survey linked databases and a contextual-level SDoH
database from the social and built environment. Aim 3 uses key informant interviews of PC patients, and
providers to evaluate the influence of SDoH, psychosocial, and sociocultural factors on SCM use. This project is
highly innovative because it will be the first to derive a sociobehavioral phenotype of SCM use disparities in PC
using a novel integrated external exposome database that captures multiple dimensions of SDoH. It is also highly
impactful because it will provide new insights into the explanatory causes of SCM disparities, their consequences
on HRQoL, and the faci...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10944629
- **Project number:** 1R01MD019684-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
- **Principal Investigator:** John M Allen
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $514,964
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-08-26 → 2024-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10944629

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10944629, Examining the determinants and consequences of supportive care medication use disparities in patients with pancreatic cancer: A sequential mixed-methods approach (1R01MD019684-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10944629. Licensed CC0.

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