A cross-sectional study of the experiences of distressed callers when accessing financial assistance from a telephone-based cancer information and support service.

Objective: The objective of this study was to explore the experiences of distressed people calling helplines regarding offer and uptake of financial services after cancer diagnosis.

Methods: Cancer patients and caregivers reported whether they had discussed then used financial services and perceptions surrounding service uptake. Associations between being offered services and demographic, clinical and financial characteristics were explored.

What is the economic and social return on investment for telephone cancer information and support services in Australia? An evaluative social return on investment study protocol.

Introduction: Over 50% of people affected by cancer report unmet support needs. To address unmet information and psychological needs, non-government organisations such as Cancer Councils (Australia) have developed state-based telephone cancer information and support services. Due to competing demands, evidence of the value of these services is needed to ensure that future investment makes the best use of scarce resources.

Understanding experiences of cognitive decline and cognitive assessment from the perspectives of people with glioma and their caregivers: A qualitative interview study.

Background: Despite the impact of cognitive decline during brain cancer care, implementing routine cognitive assessment can be challenging. Effective implementation of cognitive assessment necessitates an understanding of implementation from the patient perspective. However, little is known about how people with glioma and their caregivers experience cognitive changes, assessment and support.

The impact of a regionally based translational cancer research collaborative in Australia using the FAIT methodology.

Background: Translating research, achieving impact, and assessing impact are important aspirations for all research collaboratives but can prove challenging. The Hunter Cancer Research Alliance (HCRA) was funded from 2014 to 2021 to enhance capacity and productivity in cancer research in a regional centre in Australia. This study aimed to assess the impact and benefit of the HCRA to help inform future research investments of this type.

Fear of Cancer Recurrence in Differentiated Thyroid Cancer Survivors: A Systematic Review.

Despite excellent survival rates, health-related quality of life detriments are common in differentiated thyroid cancer survivors and can be driven by fear of cancer recurrence (FCR). This review aims to report the incidence of FCR in thyroid cancer survivors and synthesize evidence regarding contributing factors. An overview and appraisal of the range of tools used to measure FCR is presented.

Thyroid cancer patient reported outcome measures in clinical practice: analysing acceptability and optimizing recruitment.

Background: Patient reported outcomes measures (PROMs) can provide valuable metrics in clinical trials and cancer registries. To ensure relevance, patient participation must be optimized and PROMs be highly acceptable to patients. There are few data reporting methods to maximize recruitment and a lack of consensus regarding appropriate PROMs for thyroid cancer survivors.

Hearing the Voices of Australian Thyroid Cancer Survivors: Qualitative Thematic Analysis of Semistructured Interviews Identifies Unmet Support Needs.

Most thyroid cancer survivors regain their physical health-related quality of life, but psychological and social deficits persist. The nature of these detriments remains poorly understood and they are insufficiently captured by survey data alone. To address this, qualitative data exploring the breadth and depth of thyroid cancer survivors' experiences and priorities for supportive care are required.

Acceptability and feasibility of cognitive assessments with adults with primary brain cancer and brain metastasis: A systematic review.

Routine cognitive assessment for adults with brain cancers is seldom completed but vital for guiding daily living, maintaining quality of life, or supporting patients and families. This study aims to identify cognitive assessments which are pragmatic and acceptable for use in clinical settings. MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and Cochrane were searched to identify studies published in English between 1990 and 2021.

Current patterns of care in low-risk thyroid cancer-A national cross-sectional survey of Australian thyroid clinicians.

Introduction: De-escalated treatment of hemithyroidectomy without radioactive iodine (RAI) is now accepted for patients with low-risk, well-differentiated thyroid cancer (WDTC). The benefit of long-term follow-up care remains controversial. This study aims to describe parameters associated with less than total thyroidectomy, and discharge from specialist follow-up in patients with low-risk WDTC in Australia.

Perceived importance of emotional support provided by health care professionals and social networks: Should we broaden our focus for the delivery of supportive care?

Introduction: Emotional support provided by health care professionals (HCPs) for people diagnosed with cancer is associated with improved outcomes. Support via social networks may also be important.

Aims: To report among a sample of distressed patients and caregivers, (1) the importance attributed to different sources of emotional support (HCPs and social networks) by distressed cancer patients and caregivers; (2) the proportion who indicate they did not receive sufficient levels of emotional support; and (3) potential associations between respondents' demographic and clinical characteristics and reported lack of emotional support.

Long-Term Health-Related Quality of Life Outcomes Following Thyroid Surgery for Malignant or Benign Disease: Deficits Persist in Cancer Survivors Beyond Five Years.

Background: Thyroid cancer diagnoses are increasing and treatment can lead to significant morbidity. Long-term health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in thyroid cancer is understudied and lacks reference populations. This study compares long-term HRQoL between patients with thyroid cancer or benign disease, following thyroid surgery.

Facilitating High Quality Cancer Care: A Qualitative Study of Australian Chairpersons' Perspectives on Multidisciplinary Team Meetings.

Aim: Multidisciplinary team meetings (MDMs) are a critical element of quality care for people diagnosed with cancer. The MDM Chairperson plays a significant role in facilitating these meetings, which are often time-poor environments for clinical decision making. This study examines the perceptions of MDM Chairpersons including their role and the factors that determine the quality of a Chair, as well as the Chairperson's perception of the value of personally attending meetings.

The dynamic relationship between cancer and employment-related financial toxicity: an in-depth qualitative study of 21 Australian cancer survivor experiences and preferences for support.

Background: People with a cancer diagnosis experience physical and emotional impacts that may affect employment. Alongside cancer care costs, reduced ability to generate an income is a key contributor to financial toxicity which is associated with poor emotional wellbeing, quality of life, treatment adherence and survival. This study aimed to explore people's experiences of changes to employment and their suggestions for how cancer survivors can be better supported.

A qualitative study investigating Australian cancer service outpatients' experience of distress screening and management: what is the personal relevance, acceptability and improvement opportunities from patient perspectives?

Purpose: People diagnosed with cancer experience high distress levels throughout diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship. Untreated distress is associated with poor outcomes, including worsened quality of life and higher mortality rates. Distress screening facilitates need-based access to supportive care which can optimize patient outcomes.

Psychometric properties of leadership scales for health professionals: a systematic review.

Background: The important role of leaders in the translation of health research is acknowledged in the implementation science literature. However, the accurate measurement of leadership traits and behaviours in health professionals has not been directly addressed. This review aimed to identify whether scales which measure leadership traits and behaviours have been found to be reliable and valid for use with health professionals.

Referral and uptake of services by distressed callers to the Cancer Council Information and Support telephone service.

Background: Patient-centered cancer care includes emotional, informational, and practical support that is personalised to the needs of patients and inclusive of family and friends. However, when supportive care referrals are offered in hospital settings, distressed patients and carers do not consistently act on those referrals, which can prolong patient suffering. The degree to which sub-optimal referral uptake also occurs in Australian telephone support services is unknown.

Australian Experiences of Out-of-Pocket Costs and Financial Burden Following a Cancer Diagnosis: A Systematic Review.

(1) Background: This systematic review was conducted to identify cancer patient experiences, and the impact of out-of-pocket costs and financial burden in Australia. (2) Methods: A systematic review, following the Preferring Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses, was conducted. Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature and PubMed were searched.

Implementation of lung cancer multidisciplinary teams: a review of evidence-practice gaps.

Multidisciplinary care (MDC) is considered best practice in lung cancer care. Health care services have made significant investments in MDC through the establishment of multidisciplinary team (MDT) meetings. This investment is likely to be sustained in future.

Not seeing the forest for the trees: a systematic review of comprehensive distress management programs and implementation strategies.

Purpose Of Review: Clinically significant distress is common in patients with cancer and if untreated can be associated with adverse outcomes. This article offers a review of current approaches to implementing and reporting the minimum components of distress screening and management interventions in cancer services.

Recent Findings: Twenty-two relevant published articles were identified from January 2018 to February 2020.

Distress screening and supportive care referrals used by telephone-based health services: a systematic review.

Purpose: People affected by chronic diseases such as cancer report high levels of distress and a need for psychosocial support. It is unclear whether telephone-based services for people affected by chronic disease are a practical setting for implementing distress screening, referral protocols and rescreening to direct supportive care where it is needed. This systematic review aimed to describe the published literature regarding distress screening and supportive care referral practices in telephone-based services for people affected by chronic diseases such as cancer.

Implementing Systematic Screening and Structured Care for Distressed Callers Using Cancer Council's Telephone Services: Protocol for a Randomized Stepped-Wedge Trial.

Background: Structured distress management, comprised a 2-stage screening and referral model, can direct supportive care resources toward individuals who are most likely to benefit. This structured approach has yet to be trialed in Australian community-based services such as Cancer Council New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria Cancer Information and Support (CIS) 13 11 20 lines who care for a large community of cancer patients and caregivers.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of structured screening and referral in (1) increasing the proportion of distressed CIS callers who accept supportive care referrals and (2) reducing distress levels at 6-month follow-up.

A cross-sectional audit of current practices and areas for improvement of distress screening and management in Australian cancer services: is there a will and a way to improve?

Background: It is unknown how many distressed patients receive the additional supportive care recommended by Australian evidence-based distress management guidelines. The study identifies the (1) distress screening practices of Australian cancer services; (2) barriers to improving practices; and (3) implementation strategies which are acceptable to service representatives interested in improving screening practices.

Method: Clinic leads from 220 cancer services were asked to nominate an individual involved in daily patient care to complete a cross-sectional survey on behalf of the service.

Taking the pulse of the health services research community: a cross-sectional survey of research impact, barriers and support.

Objective This study reports on the characteristics of individuals conducting health service research (HSR) in Australia and New Zealand, the perceived accessibility of resources for HSR, the self-reported impact of HSR projects and perceived barriers to conducting HSR. Methods A sampling frame was compiled from funding announcements, trial registers and HSR organisation membership. Listed researchers were invited to complete online surveys.