My poster focused on socioeconomic status and transition readiness in adolescent and young adult (AYA) survivors of cancer. AYA survivors of childhood cancer require life-long annual follow up care due to their high risk of late effects from their cancer treatment, thus necessitating transition to adult-oriented health care. Since AYAs from structurally minoritized sociodemographic groups often face health disparities that can impact this transition (Prussien et al. 2022), we aimed to investigate the relationship between neighborhood income and transition readiness, particularly appointment keeping skills, among AYA survivors of cancer. We hypothesized that there would be a positive relationship between median neighborhood income and self-reported transition readiness skills.

For this study, a total of 593 AYAs (ages 15 to 29) completed the Transition Readiness Assessment Questionnaire (TRAQ) assessing positive beliefs/expectations and goals related to transition. Furthermore, using participant addresses, neighborhood median income was extracted from the U.S. Bureau of the Census- 2020 Census Summary at the census tract level. Participants were either then grouped into the “low-income” or “not low-income” categories. The federal definition for low-income area (i.e., </= 80% statewide median income) was used to dichotomize neighborhood median income (Bona et al. 2016).

The results show that there is no significant correlation between the TRAQ score of the participants and being in the “low income” or “not low income” group. However, there is a small negative correlation (-.102) between median income of the census tract and the TRAQ score of the participants. The mean score for average/high income participants (n = 422) is 3.68, while the mean score for low income participants (n = 110) is 3.81.

To look deeper into the data, I zoomed specifically in on the “appointment keeping” section of the TRAQ. This section asks questions such as “Do you call the doctor’s office to make appointments?” and “Do you arrange for your ride to medical appointments?”. The data showed that there is also a small negative correlation (-.117) between median income of the census tract and the “appointment keeping” section of the TRAQ. The mean score for average/high income participants (n = 422) is 3.22, while the mean score for low income participants (n = 110) is 3.43. 

These results did not support the hypothesis of a positive relationship between median neighborhood income and transition readiness. Analyses indicate that those from lower income neighborhoods may have greater transition readiness skills, including appointment keeping, yet more research is needed. Prior research in this area has been variable, including results that show no relationship between socioeconomic status and TRAQ scores (Jensen et al. 2017). It is possible that parental involvement in lower income neighborhoods may be more variable given financial strains and responsibilities (e.g., work, caring for multiple family members) and, as such, AYA may assume more responsibility for their care, including appointment keeping. Future research should investigate how socioeconomic status, including neighborhood income levels, interacts with other variables to influence transition readiness.

References

Bona, K., Blonquist, T. M., Neuberg, D. S., Silverman, L. B., & Wolfe, J. (2016). Impact of Socioeconomic Status on Timing of Relapse and Overall Survival for Children Treated on Dana-Farber Cancer Institute ALL Consortium Protocols (2000-2010). Pediatric blood & cancer, 63(6), 1012–1018. https://doi.org/10.1002/pbc.25928

Jensen, P. T., Paul, G. V., LaCount, S., Peng, J., Spencer, C. H., Higgins, G. C., Boyle, B., Kamboj, M., Smallwood, C., & Ardoin, S. P. (2017). Assessment of transition readiness in adolescents and young adults with chronic health conditions. Pediatric rheumatology online journal, 15(1), 70. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12969-017-0197-6

Prussien, K. V., Barakat, L. P., Darabos, K., Psihogios, A. M., King-Dowling, S., O'Hagan, B., Tucker, C., Li, Y., Hobbie, W., Ginsberg, J., Szalda, D., Hill-Kayser, C., & Schwartz, L. A. (2022). Sociodemographics, Health Competence, and Transition Readiness Among Adolescent/Young Adult Cancer Survivors. Journal of pediatric psychology, jsac039. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1093/jpepsy/jsac039