Changes in primary care provider utilization by phase of care for women diagnosed with breast cancer: a CanIMPACT longitudinal cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Primary care providers (PCPs) have always played an important role in cancer diagnosis. There is increasing awareness of the importance of their role during treatment and survivorship. We examined changes in PCP utilization from pre-diagnosis to survival for women diagnosed with breast cancer, factors associated with being a high user of primary care, and variation across four Canadian provinces. METHODS: The cohorts included women 18+ years of age diagnosed with stage I-III invasive breast cancer in years 2007-2012 in British Columbia (BC), Manitoba (MB), Ontario (ON), and Nova Scotia (NS) who had surgery plus adjuvant chemotherapy and were alive 30+ months after diagnosis (N = 19,589). We compared the rate of PCP visits in each province across phases of care (pre-diagnosis, diagnosis, treatment, and survival years 1 to 4). RESULTS: PCP use was greatest during treatment and decreased with each successive survival year in all provinces. The unadjusted difference in PCP use between treatment and pre-diagnosis was most pronounced in BC where PCP use was six times higher during treatment than pre-diagnosis. Factors associated with being a high user of primary care during treatment included comorbidity and being a high user of care pre-diagnosis in all provinces. These factors were also associated with being a higher user of care during diagnosis and survival. CONCLUSIONS: Contrary to the traditional view that PCPs focus primarily on cancer prevention and early detection, we found that PCPs are involved in the care of women diagnosed with breast cancer across all phases of care.

Cross-Canada differences in early-stage breast cancer treatment and acute-care use.

Background: Chemotherapy has improved outcomes in early-stage breast cancer, but treatment practices vary, and use of acute care is common. We conducted a pan-Canadian study to describe treatment differences and the incidence of emergency department visits (edvs), edvs leading to hospitalization (edvhs), and direct hospitalizations (hs) during adjuvant chemotherapy. Methods: The cohort consisted of women diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer (stages i-iii) during 2007-2012 in British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, or Nova Scotia who underwent curative surgery. Parallel provincial analyses were undertaken using linked clinical, registry, and administrative databases. The incidences of edvs, edvhs, and hs in the 6 months after treatment initiation were examined for patients treated with adjuvant chemotherapy. Results: The cohort consisted of 50,224 patients. The proportion of patients who received chemotherapy varied by province, with Ontario having the highest proportion (46.4%), and Nova Scotia, the lowest proportion (38.0%). Age, stage, receptor status, comorbidities, and geographic location were associated with receipt of chemotherapy in all provinces. Ontario had the highest proportion of patients experiencing an edv (36.1%), but the lowest proportion experiencing h (6.4%). Conversely, British Columbia had the lowest proportion of patients experiencing an edv (16.0%), but the highest proportion experiencing h (26.7%). The proportion of patients having an edvh was similar across provinces (13.9%-16.8%). Geographic location was associated with edvs, edvhs, and hs in all provinces. Conclusions: Intra- and inter-provincial differences in the use of chemotherapy and acute care were observed. Understanding variations in care can help to identify gaps and opportunities for improvement and shared learnings.

The role of scientific evidence in decisions to adopt complex innovations in cancer care settings: a multiple case study in Nova Scotia, Canada.

BACKGROUND: Health care delivery and outcomes can be improved by using innovations (i.e., new ideas, technologies, and practices) supported by scientific evidence. However, scientific evidence may not be the foremost factor in adoption decisions and is rarely sufficient. The objective of this study was to examine the role of scientific evidence in decisions to adopt complex innovations in cancer care. METHODS: Using an explanatory, multiple case study design, we examined the adoption of complex innovations in five purposively sampled cases in Nova Scotia, Canada. Data were collected via documents and key informant interviews. Data analysis involved an in-depth analysis of each case, followed by a cross-case analysis to develop theoretically informed, generalizable knowledge on the role of scientific evidence in innovation adoption that may be applied to similar settings and contexts. RESULTS: The analyses identified key concepts alongside important caveats and considerations. Key concepts were (1) scientific evidence underpinned the adoption process, (2) evidence from multiple sources informed decision-making, (3) decision-makers considered three key issues when making decisions, and (4) champions were essential to eventual adoption. Caveats and considerations related to the presence of urgent problems and short-term financial pressures and minimizing risk. CONCLUSIONS: The findings revealed the different types of issues decision-makers consider while making these decisions and why different sources of evidence are needed in these processes. Future research should examine how different types of evidence are legitimized and why some types are prioritized over others.

Use of physician services during the survivorship phase: a multi-province study of women diagnosed with breast cancer.

INTRODUCTION: Oncologists have traditionally been responsible for providing routine follow-up care for cancer survivors; in recent years, however, primary care providers (pcps) are taking a greater role in care during the follow-up period. In the present study, we used a longitudinal multi-province retrospective cohort study to examine how primary care and specialist care intersect in the delivery of breast cancer follow-up care. METHODS: Various databases (registry, clinical, and administrative) were linked in each of four provinces: British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, and Nova Scotia. Population-based cohorts of breast cancer survivors were identified in each province. Physician visits were identified using billings or claims data and were classified as visits to primary care (total, breast cancer-specific, and other), oncology (medical oncology, radiation oncology, and surgery), and other specialties. The mean numbers of visits by physician type and specialty, or by combinations thereof, were examined. The mean numbers of visits for each follow-up year were also examined by physician type. RESULTS: The results showed that many women (>64%) in each province received care from both primary care and oncology providers during the follow-up period. The mean number of breast cancer-specific visits to primary care and visits to oncology declined with each follow-up year. Interprovincial variations were observed, with greater surgeon follow-up in Nova Scotia and greater primary care follow-up in British Columbia. Provincial differences could reflect variations in policies and recommendations, relevant initiatives, and resources or infrastructure to support pcp-led follow-up care. CONCLUSIONS: Optimizing the role of pcps in breast cancer follow-up care might require strategies to change attitudes about pcp-led follow-up and to better support pcps in providing survivorship care.

Indicators of dynamic stability in transtibial prosthesis users.

An improved understanding of factors related to dynamic stability in lower-limb prosthesis users is important, given the high occurrence of falls in this population. Current methods of assessing stability are unable to adequately characterize dynamic stability over a variety of walking conditions. F-Scan Mobile has been used to collect plantar pressure data and six extracted parameters were useful measures of dynamic stability. The aim of this study was to investigate dynamic stability in individuals with unilateral transtibial amputation based on these six parameters. Twenty community ambulators with a unilateral transtibial amputation walked over level ground, uneven ground, stairs, and a ramp while plantar pressure data were collected. For each limb (intact and prosthetic) and condition, six stability parameters related to plantar center-of-pressure perturbations and gait temporal parameters, were computed from the plantar pressure data. Parameter values were compared between limbs, walking condition, and groups (unilateral transtibial prosthesis users and able-bodied subjects). Differences in parameters were found between limbs and conditions, and between prosthesis users and able-bodied individuals. Further research could investigate optimizing parameter calculations for unilateral transtibial prosthesis users and define relationships between potential for falls and the dynamic stability measures.

Asymmetric interference effects in fragment completion: the consequences of recognition failures and successes.

We examined the extent to which implicit and explicit memory performance is susceptible to the effects of proactive and retroactive interference produced by orthographic similarity. Participants studied target and nontarget words that were orthographically similar or dissimilar. At test, they were given fragments of the target words intermixed with fragments of nonstudied words. Participants' initial task was to determine whether each fragment was a studied word. If they recognized it, they were to complete the fragment with the studied word; if not, they were to complete the fragment with the first word that came to mind. Completion rates including both recognized and nonrecognized target fragments provided evidence of proactive but not retroactive interference. The implicit processing engaged by the nonrecognized target fragments was found to be the primary source of the proactive interference effect.

Error detection in text: do feedback and familiarity help?

In the present study, the authors examined the extent to which familiarity and feedback (auditory and/or articulatory) might be beneficial to proofreading. Participants proofread unfamiliar and familiar (repeated) passages while (a) concurrently reading either aloud or silently, (b) concurrently listening to the passages being read to them, or (c) reading without either auditory or articulatory feedback. Errors were one-letter changes that transformed function words into contextually inappropriate words. Familiarity improved reading times largely irrespective of feedback, and it enhanced error detection only when auditory feedback was available to participants. Proofreaders' enhanced error detection in familiar text reflected a change in their sensitivity to errors rather than any change in the placement of the response criterion for reporting errors. These findings suggest that familiarity can produce two kinds of functional fluency, one involving speed of processing, which is largely independent of feedback, and the other concerned with accuracy of processing, which relies on feedback.