Lake Superior Rural Cancer Care Project, part I: an interventional trial.
OBJECTIVE
To date, effective cancer care and control intervention studies have been carried out largely in urban and suburban populations. This study was conducted to test innovative interventions, using experimental designs, to improve the care and outcomes of patients with cancer in rural settings.


METHODS
The Lake Superior Rural Cancer Care Project (LSRCCP) tested an innovative, multimodal, multidisciplinary intervention that involved rural healthcare providers and their healthcare system. An experimental design was used, with the rural community as the unit of randomization. Outcomes were measured at three levels: rural providers' knowledge of cancer management, providers' practice performance, and patient outcomes. This 5-year study was conducted in rural areas of northern Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the western part of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.


RESULTS
Baseline data from the study are provided, and details of the design and methods are presented. The study outcomes are reported in part in "Lake Superior Rural Cancer Care Project Part II" in this issue and will be reported further in future issues.


CONCLUSIONS
This article describes the hypotheses, design, and methods of the LSRCCP. The design and methods as well as the results of this study may be useful to cancer researchers and clinicians in rural areas across the United States.
Elliott
T E
TE
Lake Superior Rural Cancer Care Project (LSRCCP), Division of Education and Research, St. Mary's/Duluth Clinic Health System, University of Minnesota Duluth, School of Medicine, Duluth, Minnesota 55805, USA.
Elliott
B A
BA
Regal
R R
RR
Renier
C M
CM
Crouse
B J
BJ
Gangeness
D E
DE
Witrak
M T
MT
Jensen
P B
PB
D006801:Humans; D008824:Michigan; D008910:Minnesota; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy*; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D019035:Rural Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014922:Wisconsin