Lisa Carter-Harris, Ph.D.

Lung cancer kills more people than any other cancer. Lung cancer screening can identify this deadly disease at an early stage when more treatment options exist. However, despite being a fully covered preventive service, clinicians are not initiating discussions about lung cancer screening in the majority of the screening-eligible patient population. Underlying negative attitudes about current and former smokers, including stigma and bias held by clinicians, may be influencing the low referral patterns for lung cancer screening. This study will help us understand barriers to discussions and subsequent referral from the clinicians' perspective in order to develop effective interventions for high-risk patients that clinicians will integrate into their practice.

Update: We are currently recruiting primary care clinicians for the survey arm of the study. Clinician responses to the survey component of the study will directly guide the qualitative component and semi-tailored interview guide for qualitative data collection. Ultimately, results from this study combined with my overarching program of research, will guide effective, meaningful, tailored and targeted interventions to support shared decision-making around lung cancer screening.