# Economic Strain and Resilience in Cancer Patients: Assessing Patient-Reported Measures of the Burdens of Treatment

> **NIH NIH K07** · UNIVERSITY OF TX MD ANDERSON CAN CTR · 2020 · $170,575

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
 In this 5-year proposal, we seek to acquire a comprehensive understanding of economic strain and
resilience in cancer patients, using a patient-centered approach. Our goal is to develop and pilot measures of
patient-reported economic strain and resilience as novel health related quality of life (HRQOL) outcomes. We
define economic strain as the material and non-material economic resource burden exerted by the stressor of
cancer treatment; and economic resilience as the intrinsic material and non-material resources a patient may
rely on in response to economic strain. Our results will support an investigator-initiated study to assess
economic strain and resilience, and related health outcomes, in a national longitudinal cohort of cancer
patients. This project will advance my long-term research goal, to advance a patient-centered research
framework for understanding and enhancing value in cancer care. This research will provide knowledge to
support shared decision-making about cancer treatment, promote treatments that improve quality of life (QOL),
and reduce disparities in use of high-value healthcare.
 During the award period, I plan to combine field research, formal mentorship, and didactics in key content
areas to accomplish my goals. My multidisciplinary mentorship team includes highly experienced professors at
M. D. Anderson (MDA) with complementary expertise and committed support for my research and career
development plan. Dr. Volk is a national expert on qualitative studies of cancer patients’ preferences and
values applied to patient-oriented research and decision-making. He has 20 years of experience mentoring
junior investigators to independence. Dr. Peterson is Core Director of the Patient-Reported Outcomes, Survey
& Population Research (PROSPR) center at MDA. Dr. Shih is a health economist studying comparative
effectiveness and impact of treatment choices on cancer outcomes and cost. Drs. Giordano and Hahn engage
in health services research and will help me develop as an academic thought-leader in comparative
effectiveness oncology research. My statistical mentor is Dr. Shete, an expert in quantitative methods for
behavioral and patient-centered cancer outcomes research. To accomplish my research plan and career goals,
I will develop new expertise in qualitative and mixed methods, psychometrics, and health economics. This
expertise synergizes with my prior training in quantitative approaches to analyze population data. This powerful
combination will ultimately offer me the unique opportunity to generate novel information on the value of cancer
treatments from the patient perspective and impact their QOL and health outcomes.
 More than one million US adults receive a cancer diagnosis yearly, and upon diagnosis, patients together
with their physicians need to make treatment decisions. Two concepts have emerged as priorities to
incorporate into this treatment decision-making process. The first priority is to inc...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9998905
- **Project number:** 5K07CA211804-05
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TX MD ANDERSON CAN CTR
- **Principal Investigator:** Grace Smith
- **Activity code:** K07 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $170,575
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2016-09-13 → 2022-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9998905

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9998905, Economic Strain and Resilience in Cancer Patients: Assessing Patient-Reported Measures of the Burdens of Treatment (5K07CA211804-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9998905. Licensed CC0.

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