Objectives: To maintain continuity of care during the Covid-19 pandemic, virtual consultations (VC) became the mainstay of patient-healthcare practitioner interactions. The aim of this study was to explore the views of oncology and palliative care healthcare professionals (HCPs) regarding the medium of VC.
Method: A cross sectional mixed methodology observational study of oncology and palliative care HCPs, analysed via an inductive thematic approach. This was undertaken in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations.
Results: 87 surveys were completed. Three master themes were identified. Personal, professional, and familial factors including patient age, illness and VC skillset all influenced practitioner's experience of VC. Relationships and connection were highlighted by survey respondents as important influences, with a perception that VC could reduce usual relationships with patients, compared to previous face-to-face consults. There was a perceived loss in these domains with VC. Sharing bad news and having challenging conversations was seen as particularly difficult via VC. Many survey respondents emphasized that they preferred to have first time consultations face-to-face, and not virtually. Within the domain of logistical and practical implications reduced travel and increased accessibility were seen as a significant benefit of VC. The inability to examine patients and concerns regarding missing clinical signs was emphasised as a significant worry, alongside the challenges faced with occasionally failing technology.
Conclusion: VC were felt to have a role for those patients who are already known to professionals, where there was an established relationship. VC for difficult discussions and for unstable patients were felt to be inadequate. Triaging patient suitability prior to offering VC, with emphasis on the importance of patient choice, was seen as a priority in this new era of VC.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12904-024-01400-y | DOI Listing |
World J Surg Oncol
January 2025
Department of Oesophago-Gastric & Bariatric Surgery, Salford Care Organisation, Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, Salford Royal Hospital, Manchester, UK.
Background: The delivery of cancer services changed significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to describe changes in presentations, assess the change in recommendations by the MDT during the pandemic, and describe the subsequent long-term impact of these changes on survival rates in patients with EG cancer.
Methods: A retrospective cohort study was designed comparing three patient groups of those referred to EG MDT in the same 6-month period pre-pandemic (PP;2019) during the initial phase of the pandemic (P1;2020) and the year after the initial phase (P2;2021).
Introduction: Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) has been reported in clinical trials of pembrolizumab and avelumab treatment of locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma. However, few studies have investigated the effect of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) on HRQOL in patients with urothelial carcinoma in a real-world setting.
Methods: We included 44 patients with advanced urothelial cancer who were treated with pembrolizumab or avelumab from January 2018 to November 2023.
Clin Neurol Neurosurg
January 2025
Department of Neurosurgery, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Electronic address:
Objectives: To provide information about implementation, resources, practice patterns and prevalent perceptions regarding neuro-oncology tumor boards (NOTBs) in a lower middle income country.
Methods: A nationwide survey was designed to include licensed neurosurgeons involving data on practice, structure, and perceptions of NOTBs with non-probability sampling, a pre-validated proforma, data analysis using SPSS v27, and geospatial mapping using Quantum GIS.
Results: 139 neurosurgeons were surveyed from 63 neurosurgical centers of a lower middle income country.
JAMA Netw Open
January 2025
Division of Population Sciences, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts.
Importance: Adolescent and young adult (AYA) patients with advanced cancer often die in hospital settings. Data characterizing the degree to which this pattern of care is concordant with patient goals are sparse.
Objective: To evaluate the extent of concordance between the preferred and actual location of death among AYA patients with cancer.
Palliat Support Care
January 2025
Department of Palliative Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
Objectives: Wishes to hasten death (WTHDs) are common in patients with serious illness. The Schedule of Attitudes Toward Hastened Death (SAHD) is a validated 20-item instrument for measuring WTHD. Two short versions have also been developed based on statistical item selection.
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