Prevention of osteoradionecrosis in patients with head and neck cancer treated with radiation therapy.

Background: Osteoradionecrosis is a long-term, serious side effect of head and neck radiation therapy and is associated with significant morbidity and quality of life issues.

Methods: This paper sought to determine consensus on the prevention and management of osteoradionecrosis by an international panel of multidisciplinary professionals expert in the management of patients with head and neck cancer using a Delphi methodology. Unique to this work is our direct inclusion of the views of patients and carers in our findings.

Risk factors associated with the development of osteoradionecrosis (ORN) in Head and Neck cancer patients in Ireland: A 10-year retrospective review.

Background And Purposes: To assess osteoradionecrosis (ORN) incidence in a population of Irish Head and Neck cancer (HNC) patients, and assess precipitating factors that may contribute to ORN development to aid prevention.

Materials And Methods: Review of 1050 HNC patients attending the Dental Oncology Clinic, CUDSH between 2010 and 2021 identified 47 cases of ORN. Medical, dental and radiotherapy records of these forty-seven patients were retrospectively reviewed.

Analysis of the Saliva Proteome Using 2D-DIGE.

Saliva is now an established biofluid with a number of important applications in use across research and clinical settings. Saliva contains an assortment of biomolecules, including proteins, metabolites, RNA, DNA, and microorganisms. Numerous biomolecules enter saliva from the blood by passing through the intercellular spaces, reflecting the physiological state of the body.

Proteomic Identification of Saliva Proteins as Noninvasive Diagnostic Biomarkers.

Many biomedically relevant biomarkers are proteins with characteristic biochemical properties and a relatively restricted subcellular distribution. The comparative and mass spectrometry-based proteomic analysis of body fluids can be particularly instrumental for the targeted identification of novel protein biomarkers with pathological relevance. In this respect, new research efforts in biomarker discovery focus on the systematic mapping of the human saliva proteome, as well as the pathobiochemical identification of disease-related modifications or concentration changes in specific saliva proteins.

Barriers to accessing psycho-oncological support in head and neck cancer: A qualitative exploration of healthcare professionals' perspectives.

Purpose: Disease- and treatment-related consequences in Head and Neck Cancer (HNC) can result in psychological issues for which specialist psychological support, dubbed psycho-oncology, is recommended. Health and Social Care Professionals (HSCPs) function as a crucial link between survivors and these services, through onward referral pathways. However, little is known about these HSCPs' perspectives on barriers to accessing psycho-oncology in HNC.

Teaching acute hospital staff and students about patient flow.

Good patient flow in an acute hospital is concerned with ensuring patients experience minimal delays throughout the hospital journey, from the emergency department to the wards, outpatients and to a suitable discharge destination. Good flow requires effective processes, staff buy-in and staff education. This study aimed to explore ways in which this topic is currently taught in an Irish acute hospital group.

Health literacy impacts self-management, quality of life and fear of recurrence in head and neck cancer survivors.

Purpose: Little is known about whether health literacy is associated with affects certain key outcomes in head and neck cancer (HNC) survivors. We investigated (i) the socio-demographic and clinical profile of health literacy and (ii) associations among between health literacy and self-management behaviours, health-related quality of life (HRQL) and fear of recurrence (FoR) in HNC survivors.

Methods: A population-based survey was conducted in Ireland.

The Impact of Supplementing PowerPoint with Detailed Notes and Explanatory Videos on Student Attendance and Performance in a Physiology Module in Medicine.

PowerPoint is widely used in higher education with reported advantages on student learning. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of detailed notes and videos as a supplement to PowerPoint slides on student attendance and performance. First-year medical students' opinion on whether the supplementary material assisted their learning of Physiology in addition to demographics was collected in a survey.

Cancer-related financial hardship among head and neck cancer survivors: Risk factors and associations with health-related quality of life.

Objective: Cancer survivors are susceptible to financial hardship. In head and neck cancer (HNC) survivors, we investigated (a) predictors for cancer-related financial hardship and (b) associations between financial hardship and health-related quality of life (HRQoL).

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study in HNC survivors identified from the National Cancer Registry Ireland.

Investigating the impact of self-management behaviours on quality of life and fear of recurrence in head and neck cancer survivors: A population-based survey.

Objectives: Emerging cancer-survivorship research suggests that self-management can lead to improved outcomes. However, research examining the impact of self-management behaviours on quality of life (QoL) and fear of recurrence (FoR) in cancer survivors is lacking. This study investigated the relationship between self-management behaviours and QoL and FoR following treatment for head and neck cancer (HNC).

Integrating self-management into daily life following primary treatment: head and neck cancer survivors' perspectives.

Background: Self-management may help cancer survivors to better deal with challenges to their physical, functional, social and psychological well-being presented by cancer and its treatment. Nonetheless, little is known about how people integrate cancer self-management practices into their daily lives. The aim of this study was to describe and characterise the processes through which head and neck cancer (HNC) survivors attempt to integrate self-management into their daily lives following primary treatment.

Barriers to active self-management following treatment for head and neck cancer: Survivors' perspectives.

Objective: Active self-management practices may help head and neck cancer (HNC) survivors to deal with challenges to their physical, functional, social, and psychological well-being presented by HNC and its treatment. This study investigates the factors perceived by HNC survivors to act as barriers to their active self-management following primary treatment.

Methods: In this qualitative study, 27 HNC survivors identified through 4 designated cancer centres in Ireland participated in face-to-face semistructured interviews.

In a bad place: Carers of patients with head and neck cancer experiences of travelling for cancer treatment.

Purpose: To explore the effect that treatment-related commuting has on carers of patients with head and neck cancer.

Method: Semi-structured interviews, thematically analysed, with 31 carers.

Results: Treatment-related commuting had a considerable impact on carers of patients with head and neck cancer, both in practical terms (economic costs, disruption) and also in psychological terms.

Worry in Head and Neck Cancer Caregivers: The Role of Survivor Factors, Care-Related Stressors, and Loneliness in Predicting Fear of Recurrence.

Background: Fear of recurrence (FOR) is a primary concern for both cancer survivors and their caregivers, yet little is known about what care-related factors exacerbate this worry.

Objectives: This study aimed to establish the role of care-related stressors-as distinct from survivor characteristics-in predicting FOR in head and neck cancer caregivers.

Methods: HNC survivor-caregiver dyads took part in a mailed survey.

Self-management strategies used by head and neck cancer survivors following completion of primary treatment: A directed content analysis.

Objective: Head and neck cancer (HNC) survivors encounter unique challenges following treatment. This study aimed to identify self-management strategies that HNC survivors use to overcome these posttreatment challenges.

Methods: Twenty-seven individuals from 4 designated cancer centres in Ireland were interviewed about self-management strategies that helped them overcome challenges following HNC treatment.

Making Implicit Assumptions Explicit in the Costing of Informal Care: The Case of Head and Neck Cancer in Ireland.

Background: From a health service perspective, informal care is often viewed as a potentially cost-effective way of transferring costs out of the formal healthcare sector. However, informal care is not a free resource.

Objective: Our objective was to assess the impact of alternative valuation methods and key assumptions on the cost of informal care.

Associations between neighbourhood support and financial burden with unmet needs of head and neck cancer survivors.

Purpose: To assess the unmet needs of head and neck cancer survivors and investigate associated factors. In particular, to explore whether social support (family/friends and neighbours) and financial burden are associated with unmet needs of head and neck cancer (HNC) survivors.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of HNC survivors, with 583 respondents included in the analysis.

Cancer survivors' perspectives on adjustment-focused self-management interventions: a qualitative meta-synthesis.

Purpose: Self-management interventions improve patient outcomes across a range of long-term conditions but are often limited by low uptake and completion rates. The aim of this paper was to conduct a meta-synthesis of qualitative studies exploring cancer survivors' views and experiences of engaging with adjustment-focused self-management interventions in order to inform the development of future interventions targeting this population.

Methods: Four electronic databases were systematically searched.

Burden and happiness in head and neck cancer carers: the role of supportive care needs.

Purpose: Our study aimed to investigate the relationship between unmet supportive care needs and carer burden and happiness, in head and neck cancer (HNC).

Methods: Two hundred eighty-five HNC informal carers were sent a postal questionnaire between January and June 2014, which included the supportive care needs survey for partners and caregivers of cancer survivors (SCNS-P&C) and the CarerQol, which assesses burden and happiness. Multiple regression analysis was conducted to examine the association of (i) carer characteristics, (ii) carer situation, and (iii) unmet supportive care needs, with carer burden and happiness

Results: One hundred ninety-seven carers completed the questionnaire (response rate = 69 %), 180 of whom were included in the analysis.

Distress in long-term head and neck cancer carers: a qualitative study of carers' perspectives.

Aims And Objectives: To identify and describe the triggers of emotional distress among long-term caregivers (more than 1 year postdiagnosis) of people with head and neck cancer.

Background: Limited research has been conducted on the factors that cause head and neck cancer caregivers to become distressed.

Design: Qualitative cross-sectional.

The unmet supportive care needs of long-term head and neck cancer caregivers in the extended survivorship period.

Aims And Objectives: To examine the unmet supportive care needs of long-term head and neck cancer caregivers, and the factors associated with those needs.

Background: Research on the unmet needs of head and neck cancer caregivers is lacking, particularly in the long-term survivorship period.

Design: Survey of 197 caregivers.

What factors are associated with posttraumatic growth in head and neck cancer carers?

Purpose: Researchers have recently called for more work to be conducted on positive outcomes and head and neck cancer. The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors associated with posttraumatic growth in head and neck cancer caregivers.

Methods And Sample: 197 carers were surveyed.

Psychological variables associated with quality of life following primary treatment for head and neck cancer: a systematic review of the literature from 2004 to 2015.

Objective: There has been a recent proliferation of research on quality of life (QoL) in head and neck cancer (HNC). The objective of this review was to systematically examine the evidence on psychological factors associated with QoL outcomes for HNC survivors in the post-treatment period published during 2004-2015.

Methods: Five databases were searched for studies investigating psychological factors associated with QoL in HNC survivors.

The financial impact of head and neck cancer caregiving: a qualitative study.

Background: There is a lack of research on the financial impacts that head and neck cancer has on caregivers.

Objective: To explore the overall financial impact of head and neck cancer on caregivers; to describe the factors that mitigate this impact.

Methods: Interviews with 31 caregivers (mean time caring: 5.