Factors Associated with Supportive Care Receipt Among Black Patients with Advanced Lung Cancer: An Exploratory Pilot Study

Black patients with cancer are less likely to receive supportive care than non-Hispanic White patients. Studies examining supportive care use patterns specifically among Black patients are limited. To describe supportive care receipt and explore its sociodemographic, clinical, and communication-related correlates in Black patients with advanced lung cancer. Observational exploratory pilot study. Black patients with advanced lung cancer ( N = 30) were recruited from thoracic oncology clinics in the United States. Participants self-reported sociodemographic, clinical, and communication-related factors. Supportive care receipt (palliative medicine, chaplain, or mental health services) was abstracted from electronic medical records. Point-biserial correlations or Fisher’s exact tests (as appropriate) assessed relationships between key variables and supportive care receipt. Significance was set at 0.05, and results were interpreted with caution due to the exploratory focus. Only six participants (20%) received supportive care during the three-month study. Supportive care receipt was more common in participants who were younger ( r = −0.48, p = 0.007, 95% CI: [−0.82, −0.14]) or had experienced medical discrimination in the past 2 years (50% v. 9%, Fisher’s exact test, odds ratio (OR) = 8.98, p = 0.03, 95% confidence interval CI: [1.25, 88.17]). Those with poorer general quality of life (QOL) ( r = −0.41, p = 0.025, 95% CI: [−0.76, −0.06]) or poorer lung cancer-specific QOL ( r = −0.55, p = 0.002, 95% CI: [−0.88, −0.23]) also had higher rates of supportive care receipt. Among Black patients with advanced lung cancer, supportive care receipt varied by sociodemographic, clinical, and communication-related factors, suggesting future research avenues.