Exploring Lung Cancer Screening in the ED: Collecting Patient and Provider Insights

Abstract

Background/Objective:
Lung cancer remains the primary cause of cancer-related death in adults, with 1.6 million deaths worldwide caused by this disease annually. The high morbidity and mortality associated with lung cancer underlies the importance of screening opportunities for detecting cancer early and improving overall rates of treating individuals. Despite this, only 5.8% of individuals who are eligible for a lung cancer screening participate. Many barriers may limit a patient’s access to screening, among which may be lack of education regarding screenings and inability to receive a timely appointment. The ED may provide both education and referrals for screening. Research focuses on identifying effective methods to engage providers and ED patients, increasing education, and addressing concerns to enhance attendance at screenings and improve long-term patient outcomes.

Methods:
Research involved conducting a preplanned topical analysis derived from semi-structured individual interviews of one hundred participants. Participants included providers and ED patients. Participants provided information regarding potential ED intervention tools to increase lung cancer screening education and uptake alongside their subjective experiences and challenges with lung cancer screenings. Themes will be identified inductively utilizing constant comparative analysis.

Results/Conclusion:
It is expected that patients and providers will express interest in learning about implementation of lung cancer screenings during an ED visit but will differ in the most effective method of lung cancer screening education. Findings will optimize interventions to increase lung cancer screening uptake among ED patients in a future randomized control trial.

Impact and Implications:
This study will establish the feasibility of utilizing the ED to provide services for patient needs that are not emergencies, specifically the lung cancer screening. Implementation of lung cancer screening services in the ED will allow for earlier diagnosis of lung cancer and increase opportunities to treat this disease, bettering patient outcomes and improving quality of life.