Rural cancer survivors face worse outcomes than their urban counterparts. To improve outcomes, it is essential that rural survivors participate in cancer related research. Yet, rural survivors are less likely to participate in cancer research. In a new publication, in the Journal of Clinical and Translational Science, Emily Hallgren, PhD and colleagues developed a survivorship needs assessment survey and compared participation between rural and urban invitees to examine differences in mode of participation by rurality and age. The goal was to determine what influences rural survivors’ participation and to use these findings to tailor cancer research to engage with rural and older populations.
The researcher’s survivorship needs assessment survey was distributed via mail, online, or via phone. The team then compared mode of participation by rurality and age. What they found was that urban survivors were just slightly more likely to participate in the study than their rural counterparts. However, rural and older survivors were more likely to participate by mail, while younger urban participants chose to participate more online.
The researchers note that the gap in digital research participation may narrow in the coming years, and rural survivors may become just as likely to participate in cancer research using the internet and smartphones as urban survivors. However, any narrowing of the gap in digital participation by rural residents will rely on improvements in access to reliable, high-speed internet and cell phone coverage.
These findings highlight the need to provide a range of study participation options, particularly to engage with rural and older populations, who remain underrepresented in cancer survivorship research. The researchers hope that this information will be used to develop and design studies that maximize participation of rural and older survivors.
To learn more, read the full publication .