Exploration of the factors that influence perceived quality of patient centered care among cancer survivors: A systematic review.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was the estimation of the quality of patient centered care among cancer survivors. METHODS: Following the PRISMA guidelines, MEDLINE and Google Scholar were systematically searched using the keywords "quality of patient centered care" and "cancer" from 2012 to 2022. RESULTS: In this systematic review 7 articles were included, from which 5557 patients were derived, 3050 of them being females. The majority of them (2553 patients) suffered from haematological malignancies, while a considerable amount of them suffered from breast cancer. Three studies were conducted in Australia and four studies in Mexico. Factors, such as respect to patients' values and preferences, emotional support, management of psychological needs and integrated and coordinated care received a lower score. The characteristics that were statistically significantly related to the dimensions of person-centered care were numerous and were grouped into two major categories: a) socio-demographic such as gender, age, marital status, professional status, level of education, place of residence, type of insurance and b) clinical factors such as type of malignancy, psychiatric comorbidities, time interval of diagnosis, follow-up center, type of treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The literature showed that there is a lack of comparative data regarding the perceived quality of patient centered care among cancer survivors. More psychometric tools of quality of patient centered care, or validation of the existed ones among all types of cancer survivors are needed, in order to identify and further improve the aspects of care that are not delivered successfully.

Post-exposure prophylaxis after non-occupational exposure to HIV in Greece.

AIM: To assess the use of post-exposure prophylaxis after a non-occupational exposure to HIV in Greece. METHODS: We analysed the data that were reported to the Hellenic Centre for Disease Control and Prevention by physicians who requested non-occupational post-exposure to HIV prophylaxis (NONOPEP). RESULTS: During the period January 1996-June 2005 inclusive, 159 persons received NONOPEP (116 males, 42 females and 1 unknown). Fifty-three per cent of the males sought NONOPEP because of an exposure to sperm and vaginal secretions, while 35.7% of the females were exposed to sperm. Unprotected sex was the main reported cause of exposure to HIV (38.36%) followed by condom rupture (35.85%). For 110 (69.18%) persons, it was the first time they were prescribed NONOPEP. CONCLUSION: The current surveillance system in Greece should be further developed to include the documentation of potential drug-toxicity, side effects and adherence to the prophylaxis. The health educational role of the nurse in HIV prevention in Greece should be developed.