Devika Salunke places second in Dr. Gary Kruh Research Symposium and Poster Competition

Devika Salunke, biomedical health informatics PhD student, placed second at the fifth annual Dr. Gary Kruh Research Symposium and Poster Competition, Cancer Prevention and Control category for the poster “Terminology Used by Patients & Clinicians to Refer to Trastuzumab Biosimilars.”

Background: Biosimilars have the potential to reduce treatment costs at an institutional level; however, they are relatively new to the American markets, and the information surrounding them can be highly technical and complex. Literature suggests that healthcare professionals who have previously prescribed biosimilars also have a limited understanding of this category of drugs (Yang et al., 2021a; Yang et al., 2021b)(1).

Due to the complexity of the subject, there may be limited development of colloquial vocabulary around biosimilars resulting in limited dissemination of information to the general public. Research suggests that a lack of shared language and knowledge between patients and their healthcare providers affects communication and information exchange between the two parties (Kuziemsky & Varpio, 2010). (2). This can potentially affect the adoption and acceptance rate of biosimilars. Here we use a qualitative approach to document the self-reported language used by healthcare providers and patients to describe Trastuzumab biosimilars. Read more in Box.