Primary mediastinal germ cell tumours with high prevalence of somatic malignancy: An experience from a single tertiary care oncology centre.

BACKGROUND: Primary mediastinal germ tumours (PMGCT) constitute, a mere 3-4% of all germ cell tumours (GCT). Although they account for approximately 16% of mediastinal tumours in adults and 19-25% in children as per western literature, there is hardly any large series on PMGCT reported from the Indian subcontinent. DESIGN: We have retrospectively analysed clinicopathological features of 98 cases of PMGCT diagnosed over 10 years (2010-2019) from a tertiary-care oncology centre. RESULTS: The study group (n = 98) comprised predominantly of males (n = 92) (M:F ratio-15:1), with an age range between 3 months to 57 years (median: 25 years). The tumours were predominantly located in the anterior mediastinum (n = 96). Broadly, Non-seminomatous germ cell tumours (NSGCT) were more common (n = 73, 74%) compared to pure seminoma (n = 25, 26%). Mixed NSGCT was the most common histological subtype (n = 30) followed by pure mature teratoma (n = 18), pure Yolk sac tumour (n = 13), mixed seminoma and NSGCT (n = 5), pure immature teratoma (n = 3) and GCT; NOS (n = 4). Interestingly, all female patients had exclusive teratomas. Nine cases revealed secondary somatic malignancy (5 carcinomas and 4 sarcomas). The majority of patients received neoadjuvant chemotherapy (n = 71). Surgical excision was performed in 60 patients. Follow up was available in 68 patients. NSGCT showed a poor prognosis as compared to seminoma (p value = 0.03) and tumours with somatic malignancies had a more aggressive clinical course. CONCLUSION: PMGCT was seen predominantly in young adult males and somatic malignancies were noted in as high as 9% of cases. Patient with somatic malignancy have aggressive clinical course, hence, extensive sampling and careful histopathological evaluation are recommended for the identification and definitive characterization.

A virtual multi-disciplinary meeting is a cost-effective method of triaging referrals to a regional musculoskeletal oncology service.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: In 2010, a virtual sarcoma referral model was implemented, which aims to provide a centralised multidisciplinary team (MDT) to provide rapid advice, avoiding unnecessary appointments and providing a streamlined service. The aim of this study is to examine the feasibility of this screening tool in reducing the service burden and expediting patient journey. METHODS AND RESULTS: All referrals made to a single tertiary referral sarcoma unit from January 2010 to December 2018 were extracted from a prospective database. Only 26.0% events discussed required review directly. 30.3% were discharged back to referrer. 16.5% required further investigations. 22.5% required a biopsy prior to review. There was a reduction in the rate of patients reviewed at the sarcoma clinic, and a higher discharge rate from the MDT in 2018 versus 2010 (p < 0.001). This gives a potential cost saving of 670,700 GBP over the 9 year period. CONCLUSION: An MDT meeting which triages referrals is cost-effective at reducing unnecessary referrals. This can limit unnecessary exposure of patients who may have an underlying diagnosis of cancer to a high-risk environment, and reduces burden on services as it copes with increasing demands during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Impact of clinical pharmacists in an inpatient medical oncology service: A prospective study at a comprehensive cancer center in Jordan.

INTRODUCTION: Clinical pharmacy is considered an integral discipline in the health care system for optimizing therapy and reducing drug-related problems. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of clinical pharmacists in optimizing management in a medical oncology service. METHODS: A prospective study was conducted at King Hussein Cancer Center between July 2019 and September 2019 of patients admitted to the medical oncology service. The impact of clinical pharmacists was measured by evaluating their interventions, defined as actions that were expected to result in a change in patient management. Data were collected daily by routine review of patients' profiles and by recording clinical pharmacists' interventions. The data collected were baseline characteristics of patients, numbers and types of clinical pharmacists' interventions, their significance, medications involved, and rate of acceptance of clinical pharmacists' interventions by physicians. The significance of each intervention was assessed by two clinical pharmacists on a Hatoum scale. Physicians' acceptance was assessed by whether the recommendations were implemented. RESULTS: During the study period, 748 patients were included, of whom 605 required a total of 1683 clinical interventions. The mean age was 56.3 years (±15.5 SD). Of the interventions, 39% resulted in initiation of a drug and 25% in drug discontinuations. The drug group most commonly associated with clinical pharmacists' interventions was antibiotics (26.5%). Physicians accepted 98% of the clinical pharmacists' interventions, and 92.4% of the interventions brought care to a more appropriate level and were considered significant. CONCLUSION: Most patients in the medical oncology service required clinical pharmacists' interventions, as demonstrated by the high number of significant clinical pharmacists' interventions. Studies should be conducted to follow up these findings with respect to patient outcomes and cost savings.

Managing Prostate Cancer Surgical Patients during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Brief Report of the Duke Cancer Institute's Initial Experience.

The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has rapidly placed tremendous stress on health systems around the world. In response, multiple health systems have postponed elective surgeries in order to conserve hospital beds and personal protective equipment, minimize patient traffic, and prevent unnecessary utilization and exposure of healthcare workers. The American College of Surgeons released the following statement on March 13, 2020: "Each hospital, health system and surgeon should thoughtfully review all scheduled elective procedures with a plan to minimize, postpone, or cancel electively scheduled operations, endoscopes, or other invasive procedures until we have passed the predicted inflection point in the exposure graph and can be confident that our health care infrastructure can support a potentially rapid and overwhelming uptick in critical patient care needs." In our state, North Carolina, Governor Roy Cooper requested that all hospitals postpone elective and non-urgent procedures and surgeries effective March 23, 2020.

Scientia Potentia Est: How the Italian World of Oncology Changes in the COVID-19 Pandemic.

PURPOSE: After coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was declared a pandemic by the WHO, a response from the Italian Health System to react to an unprecedented condition became necessary and sudden. The COVID-19 pandemic has required oncologists to redefine clinical organization and patient management. The purpose of our study was to document the difficulties emerging during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in Italian oncology. METHODS: We broadcasted an electronic survey to oncologic health care professionals. It consisted of 45 questions ranging from individual perception of pandemic management by hospital centers to physicians' and nurses' psychological distress and patient care. RESULTS: A total of 383 oncology health workers participated in the survey. The majority were female (71.8%) and from central Italy (46.2%). Impressively, a total of 357 (93%) participants declared the oncologic department reorganized routine clinical activity, but only 40.5% were adequately trained about the required procedures; 20% of the survey respondents think they have not received adequate and timely protective devices. CONCLUSION: Our survey demonstrated the flexibility of oncologic teams. However, the emergency response quality has been heterogeneous, and several drawbacks have emerged from the first analyses investigating how the world of oncology changes in the COVID-19 pandemic. Information, protection, testing, and training of health care professionals are key words that should be kept in mind to encourage recovery after this tragedy and to be ready to face a similar emergency in the future.

Limited knowledge and access to palliative care among women with cervical cancer: an opportunity for integrating oncology and palliative care in Zimbabwe.

BACKGROUND: Cervical cancer is mostly diagnosed at advanced stages among the majority of women in low-income settings, with palliative care being the only feasible form of care. This study was aimed at investigating palliative care knowledge and access among women with cervical cancer in Harare, Zimbabwe. METHODS: Sequential mixed methods design was used, consisting of two surveys and a qualitative inquiry. A census of 134 women diagnosed with cervical cancer who visited two cancer treating health facilities and one palliative care provider in Harare between January and April, 2018 were enrolled in the study. Seventy-eight health workers were also enrolled in a census in the respective facilities for a survey. Validated structured questionnaires in electronic format were used for both surveys. Descriptive statistics were generated from the surveys after conducting univariate analysis using STATA. Qualitative study used interview/discussion guides for data collection. Thematic analysis was conducted for qualitative data. RESULTS: Mean ages of patients and health workers in the surveys were 52 years (SD = 12) and 37 years (SD = 10,respectively. Thirty-two percent of women with cervical cancer reported knowledge of where to seek palliative care. Sixty-eight percent of women with cervical cancer had received treatment, yet only 13% reported receiving palliative care. Few women with cervical cancer associated treatment with pain (13%) and side effects (32%). More women associated cervical cancer with bad smells (81%) and death (84%). Only one of the health workers reported referring patients for palliative care. Seventy-six percent of health workers reported that the majority of patients with cervical cancer sourced their own analgesics from private pharmacies. Qualitative findings revealed a limited or lack of cervical cancer knowledge among nurses especially in primary health care, the existence of stigma among women with cervical cancer and limited implementation of palliative policy. CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed limited knowledge and access to palliative care in a low-income setting due to multi-faceted barriers. These challenges are not unique to the developing world and they present an opportunity for low-income countries to start considering and strategizing the integration of oncology and palliative care models in line with international recommendations.

Centralization of High-Risk Cancer Surgery Within Existing Hospital Systems.

PURPOSE: Centralization is often proposed as a strategy to improve the quality of certain high-risk health care services. We evaluated the extent to which existing hospital systems centralize high-risk cancer surgery and whether centralization is associated with short-term clinical outcomes. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We merged data from the American Hospital Association's annual survey on hospital system affiliation with Medicare claims to identify patients undergoing surgery for pancreatic, esophageal, colon, lung, or rectal cancer between 2005 and 2014. We calculated the degree to which systems centralized each procedure by calculating the annual proportion of surgeries performed at the highest-volume hospital within each system. We then estimated the independent effect of centralization on the incidence of postoperative complications, death, and readmissions after accounting for patient, hospital, and system characteristics. RESULTS: The average degree of centralization varied from 25.2% (range, 6.6% to 100%) for colectomy to 71.2% (range, 8.3% to 100%) for pancreatectomy. Greater centralization was associated with lower rates of postoperative complications and death for lung resection, esophagectomy, and pancreatectomy. For example, there was a 1.1% (95% CI, 0.8% to 1.4%) absolute reduction in 30-day mortality after pancreatectomy for each 20% increase in the degree of centralization within systems. Independent of volume and hospital quality, postoperative mortality for pancreatectomy was two times higher in the least centralized systems than in the most centralized systems (8.9% v 3.7%, P < .01). Centralization was not associated with better outcomes for colectomy or proctectomy. CONCLUSION: Greater centralization of complex cancer surgery within existing hospital systems was associated with better outcomes. As hospitals affiliate in response to broader financial and organization pressures, these systems may also present unique opportunities to improve the quality of high-risk cancer care.

Impact of a Training Intervention on the Pain Assessment in Advanced Dementia (PAINAD) Scale in Noncommunicative Inpatients.

BACKGROUND: Public hospitals in Catalonia (Spain) recommend using the Spanish version of the Pain Assessment in Advanced Dementia (PAINAD-Sp) scale for assessing pain in adult patients unable to self-report. However, since its inclusion in Catalonian nursing care plans in 2010, there have been no training programs for nurses, contributing to its current underuse. AIMS: The aim of this study was to assess the impact of a nurse training intervention on the PAINAD-Sp scale in noncommunicative inpatients unable to self-report. DESIGN: Before-after study. SETTINGS: Two public hospitals in Catalonia (Spain). PARTICIPANTS/SUBJECTS: Four hundred and one nurses participated in the training course and 219 patients received PAINAD-Sp assessments. METHODS: We used a before-after study design, evaluating the use of the PAINAD-Sp scale over two 6-month periods before and after an online training intervention for nurses in February 2017, in two public hospitals. Data were collected from patient records in each center. The primary outcome was the number of patients receiving PAINAD-Sp assessments during admission. Secondary outcomes were the number of assessments undertaken per patient during admission, the total (0-10) and item-specific (0-2) PAINAD-Sp score, and pharmacologic treatment administered. RESULTS: There were 401 nurses who took part in the training program. Over the study period, 219 patients received PAINAD-Sp assessments: 29 in the preintervention period and 190 in the postintervention period (p < .001). Administration of analgesics and antipyretics decreased (p < .001) after the intervention, whereas use of hypnotic drugs and sedatives increased. CONCLUSIONS: Theoretical and practical training may be an effective way to improve nurses' approach to identifying, assessing, and managing pain in patients unable to self-report.

Patterns of Incident Reporting Across Clinical Sites in a Regionally Expanding Academic Radiation Oncology Department.

PURPOSE: We evaluated patterns of event reporting across five clinical locations within an academic radiation oncology department, with the goal of better understanding variability across sites. METHODS AND MATERIALS: We analyzed 1,351 events reported to a departmental incident learning system over 1 calendar year across the five locations with respect to volume of events, event type, process map location of origin and detection, and event reporter. RESULTS: We found marked variability in reporting patterns, including reporting rate, event type, event severity, event location of origin and detection within the departmental process map, and discipline of event reporters. These differences relate both to variability in process and workflow (reflected by frequency of specific workflow events at each site) and in reporting culture (reflected by volume or rate of event reporting, and discipline of event reporter). CONCLUSIONS: These data highlight the variability in reporting culture even within a single department, and therefore the need to tailor and individualize safety and quality programs to the unique clinical site, with the long-term goal of achieving a common culture of safety while supporting unique processes at individual locations. This work also raises concern about extrapolating single-institution incident learning system results without understanding the unique workflow and culture of clinical sites.

Who should provide care for patients receiving palliative chemotherapy? A qualitative study among Dutch general practitioners and oncologists.

INTRODUCTION: While close collaboration between general practitioners (GPs) and hospital specialists is considered important, the sharing of care responsibilities between GPs and oncologists during palliative chemotherapy has not been clearly defined. OBJECTIVE: Evaluate the opinions of GPs and oncologists about who should provide different aspects of care for patients receiving palliative chemotherapy. DESIGN: We conducted semi-structured interviews using six hypothetical scenarios with purposively sampled GPs (n = 12) and oncologists (n = 10) in the Netherlands. Each represented an example of a clinical problem requiring different aspects of care: problems likely, or not, related to cancer or chemotherapy, need for decision support, and end-of-life care. RESULTS: GPs and oncologists agreed that GPs should provide end-of-life care and that they should be involved in decisions about palliative chemotherapy; however, for the other scenarios most participants considered themselves the most appropriate provider of care. Themes that emerged regarding who would provide the best care for the patients in the different scenarios were expertise, continuity of care, accessibility of care, doctor-patient relationship, and communication. Most participants mentioned improved communication between the GP and oncologist as being essential for a better coordination and quality of care. CONCLUSION: GPs and oncologists have different opinions about who should ideally provide different aspects of care during palliative chemotherapy. Findings raise awareness of the differences in reasoning and approaches and in current communication deficits between the two groups of health professionals. These findings could be used to improve coordination and collaboration and, ultimately, better patient care as results demonstrated that both disciplines can add value to the care for patients with advanced cancer. Key points This study identified contrasting opinions of GPs and oncologists about who should provide different aspects of care for patients receiving palliative chemotherapy. Important themes that emerged were expertise, continuity of care, doctor-patient relations, accessibility of care, and communication. Although frequently using the same arguments, GPs and oncologists often considered themselves to be the most appropriate providers of palliative care.

Gestão estratégica promovendo a integração ensino e serviço: implantação de Residência Multiprofissional em Onco-Hematologia / Gestión estratégica para promover la integración enseñanza y servicio: implantación de Residencia Multi-profesional en Onco-Hematologia / Strategic management promoting teaching and service integration: multidisciplinary residency deployment in Onco-Hematology

O presente estudo apresenta o planejamento e implementação de um produto educacional em Saúde na modalidade Residência Multiprofissional Integrada em Onco-Hematologia, com enfoque teórico da gestão estratégica. Trata-se de uma intervenção aplicada que integra ensino e serviço, conforme o processo do Project Management Institute. O cenário foi uma universidade federal brasileira em parceria com um centro de alta complexidade em Oncologia. Em 2014, o programa foi planejado orientado pela gestão estratégica das instituições, sendo implementado em 2015. A residência oportuniza qualificação multiprofissional, oferecendo oito vagas por ano. Este produto resultou de um trabalho desenvolvido no Mestrado Profissional em Ensino na Saúde, financiado pelo Governo Federal. A academia e o serviço potencializaram esforços para promover ações colaborativas atendendo às necessidades da sociedade, alinhados às políticas de Estado que priorizam a atenção ao câncer, seguindo as diretrizes do Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS).(AU)

Este estudio presenta la planificación e implementación de un producto educativo en salud en la modalidad Residencia Multi-profesional integrada en Onco-Hematología, con enfoque teórico de la gestión estratégica. Se trata de una intervención aplicada que integra enseñanza y servicio, conforme el proceso del Project Management Institute. El escenario fue una universidad federal brasileña en alianza con un centro de alta complejidad en Oncología. En 2014, se planificó el programa orientado por la gestión estratégica de las instituciones, implementándose en 2015. La residencia proporciona la oportunidad de calificación multi-profesional, ofreciendo ocho plazas por año. Este producto fue resultado de un trabajo desarrollado en la Maestría Profesional en Enseñanza en Salud, financiado por el Gobierno Federal Brasileño. La academia y el servicio potenciaron esfuerzos para promover acciones colaborativas atendiendo las necesidades de la sociedad, alineados a las políticas de Estado que priorizan la atención al cáncer, siguiendo las directrices del del Sistema Brasileño de Salud (SUS).(AU)

In this paper we share details about the planning and implementation of a health education product deployed in a multi-professional residency in onco-hematology, using strategic management as the theoretical framework. The study represents an applied intervention that integrates teaching and service provision, based on processes established by the Project Management Institute. The study took place at a Brazilian Federal University in partnership with a center for high complexity oncology. Planning for the program began in 2014, based on the strategic management of the institutions involved, and implementation started in 2015. The residency provides an opportunity for professional training, with eight places made available each year. The product was the result of work carried out in the Professional Master's for Health Teaching that is financed by the Brazilian Federal Government. The academic institution and the service provider joined forces to promote collective actions that meet societal needs and are aligned with public policies that place a priority on cancer care, based on guidelines laid out by the Brazilian National Health System (SUS).(AU)

Role of the Nurse Navigator: integrative review. / Atuação do Nurse Navigator: revisão integrativa.

OBJECTIVE: To identify scientific literature on oncology nurses who provide patient navigation services as nurse navigators. METHODS: Integrative review of literature searches in the databases LILACS, MEDLINE/PubMed, SCOPUS, SciELO, Web of Science and Science Direct based on the descriptors patient; navigation; nurse; professional; cancer; oncology; navigator; and navigators. RESULTS: Seventeen articles were identified and grouped according to the following thematic approach: Care Processes; Patients; and Health Workers. It was observed that scientific literature on nurse navigators mostly comes from the United States, Australia, Canada, Sweden, and Demark, where the first nurse navigator programmes were introduced. No studies were found in local journals or populations. CONCLUSIONS: The nurse navigator offer a unique service for the provision of quality care. Although international research is recent, further studies on the role of these professionals are clearly needed.

Geriatrics fellowship training and the role of geriatricians in older adult cancer care: A survey of geriatrics fellowship directors.

The number of older adults with cancer is growing, necessitating more collaborative training in geriatric principles and cancer care. The authors administered a web-based survey to U.S. geriatrics program directors (PDs) addressing cancer-specific training and perspectives on optimal training content and roles for geriatricians in cancer care. Of 140 PDs contacted, 67 (48%) responded. Topics considered very important in training included cancer screening (79%) and cancer-related pain management (70%). Respondents strongly agreed that some of the geriatrician's roles in cancer care included assessing functional status (64%) and assessing physical/cognitive function for goals of care (64%). About one half (54%) agreed that having a standardized geriatric oncology curriculum overall was important. The presence of a geriatric oncologist, requiring cancer-based rotations, being affiliated with a cancer center, or being internal versus family medicine-based did not affect this response. Despite this high level of support, cancer-related skills and knowledge warrant better definition and integration into current geriatrics training. This survey establishes potential areas for future educational collaborations between geriatrics and oncology training programs.

Atuação do Nurse Navigator: revisão integrativa / Actuación del Nurse Navigator: revisión integrativa / Role of the Nurse Navigator: integrative review

Resumo OBJETIVO Conhecer a produção científica sobre o enfermeiro atuando na oncologia com a função de navegador de pacientes, Nurse Navigator. MÉTODOS Revisão integrativa com buscas nas bases de dados LILACS, MEDLINE/PubMed, SCOPUS, SciELO, Web of Science e Science Direct, utilizando os descritores: patient; navigation; nurse; professional; cancer; oncology; navigator e navigators. RESULTADOS Identificaram-se 17 artigos. Estes foram agrupados conforme a abordagem temática: Processos Assistenciais; Pacientes; e Profissionais de Saúde. Evidenciou-se que o conhecimento científico produzido sobre Nurse Navigator concentra-se nos Estados Unidos, Austrália, Canadá, Suécia e Dinamarca, países onde os primeiros Programas de Navegação de Pacientes foram implantados. Não houveram estudos publicados em periódicos ou populações locais. CONCLUSÕES A atuação do Nurse navigator, proporciona um diferencial para a qualidade assistencial dos serviços. Apesar de serem recentes as pesquisas internacionais abordando o tema, ficou claro que ainda se faz necessária a realização de mais estudos acerca do papel deste profissional.

Resumen OBJETIVO Conocer la producción científica sobre enfermero actuando en oncología con la función de navegador de pacientes, Nurse Navigator. MÉTODOS Revisión integradora con búsqueda en bases de datos LILACS, MEDLINE/PubMed, SCOPUS, SciELO, Web of Science y Science Direct, utilizando descriptores: patient; navigation; nurse; professional; cancer; oncology; navigator y navigators. RESULTADOS Se identificaron 17 artículos. Se agruparon conforme abordaje temático: Procesos Asistenciales; Pacientes; y Profesionales de Salud. Se evidenció que el conocimiento científico producido sobre Nurse Navigator se concentra en Australia, Estados Unidos, Canadá, Suecia y Dinamarca, países donde se implantaron los primeros Programas de Navegación de Pacientes. No hay estudios publicados en periódicos o poblaciones locales. CONCLUSIONES La actuación del Nurse navigator, proporciona un diferencial para la calidad asistencial de los servicios. A pesar de recientes las investigaciones internacionales abordando el tema, se hace necesaria la realización de más estudios acerca del papel de este profesional.

Abstract OBJECTIVE To identify scientific literature on oncology nurses who provide patient navigation services as nurse navigators. METHODS Integrative review of literature searches in the databases LILACS, MEDLINE/PubMed, SCOPUS, SciELO, Web of Science and Science Direct based on the descriptors patient; navigation; nurse; professional; cancer; oncology; navigator; and navigators. RESULTS Seventeen articles were identified and grouped according to the following thematic approach: Care Processes; Patients; and Health Workers. It was observed that scientific literature on nurse navigators mostly comes from the United States, Australia, Canada, Sweden, and Demark, where the first nurse navigator programmes were introduced. No studies were found in local journals or populations. CONCLUSIONS The nurse navigator offer a unique service for the provision of quality care. Although international research is recent, further studies on the role of these professionals are clearly needed.

Genetic consultation embedded in a gynecologic oncology clinic improves compliance with guideline-based care.

OBJECTIVE: Analyze the impact of embedding genetic counseling services in gynecologic oncology on clinician referral and patient uptake of cancer genetics services. METHODS: Data were reviewed for a total of 737 newly diagnosed epithelial ovarian cancer patients seen in gynecologic oncology at a large academic medical center including 401 from 11/2011-7/2014 (a time when cancer genetics services were provided as an off-site consultation). These data were compared to data from 8/2014-9/2016 (n=336), when the model changed to the genetics embedded model (GEM), incorporating a cancer genetic counselor on-site in the gynecologic oncology clinic. RESULTS: A statistically significant difference in proportion of patients referred pre- and post-GEM was observed (21% vs. 44%, p<0.0001). Pre-GEM, only 38% of referred patients were actually scheduled for genetics consultation and post-GEM 82% were scheduled (p<0.00001). The difference in the time from referral to scheduling in genetics was also statistically significant (3.92months pre-GEM vs. 0.79months post-GEM, p<0.00001) as was the time from referral to completion of genetics consultation (2.52months pre-GEM vs. 1.67months post-GEM, p<0.01). Twenty-five percent of patients referred post GEM were seen by the genetic counselor on the same day as the referral. CONCLUSIONS: Providing cancer genetics services on-site in gynecologic oncology and modifying the process by which patients are referred and scheduled significantly increases referral to cancer genetics and timely completion of genetics consultation, improving compliance with guideline-based care. Practice changes are critical given the impact of genetic test results on treatment and familial cancer risks.

A workplace modified duty program for employees in an oncology center.

BACKGROUND: Workplace modified duty programs may provide reasonable accommodations to employees who have partial temporary job disability and could work on duty accommodations until they fully recover. However, little is known about the implementation barriers and effectiveness of such programs. OBJECTIVE: This study is aimed at evaluating the implementation of a modified duty program for employees in an oncology center. METHODS: A modified duty program for employees working at the Bank of Cyprus Oncology Center, a non profit organization with 200 employees located in the Republic of Cyprus was evaluated based on the health records of the occupational medicine department. RESULTS: Employees' participation in the program was 3%. A total of 12 employees participated (6 each year). The participants were all women and the mean participation period was 21.6 days (range 10 - 65 days). The two most frequent reasons for a modified duty assignment were pregnancy and back pain. Employees were assigned either on limited duties or on a combination of limited duties and reduced work hours. Employees reported being very satisfied with their participation based on a follow-up narrative oral assessment. CONCLUSION: The small participation rate does not allow for advanced statistical analyses. Further studies from larger organizations are urgently needed to evaluate the effectiveness of modified duty programs. The development of a legal framework for such modified duty programs in Cyprus as well as internationally may promote their implementation in order to facilitate the effective management of temporary partial job disability for the benefit of both employees and businesses.

Characterizing breast conditions at an open-access breast clinic in South Africa: a model that is more than cancer care for a resource-limited setting.

BACKGROUND: While most breast-related research focuses on cancer, presentation of symptomatic persons in non-screened environments requires understanding the spectrum of breast diseases so as to plan services in resource-constrained settings. This study presents the variety of breast disease managed at a government, open-access breast clinic in South Africa. METHODS: We performed a retrospective file review using a systematic random sample of patients 18 years and above presenting for breast care over a 14-month period. We collected demographics, clinical characteristics, management and final diagnoses from the first visit and twelve subsequent months. RESULTS: The final sample contained 365 individuals (97 · 5% women). Most were black, unmarried and South African citizens with a median age of 43 years (IQR 31-55) . Of those reporting their status (24 · 1%) 38 · 6% were HIV-positive. A mass (57 · 0%) and/or pain (28 · 5%) were the most common symptoms. Imaging and breast biopsies were required in 78 and 25% of individuals, respectively. Nearly half of biopsies identified breast cancer (44 · 1% of women ≤40 and 57 · 3% for women >40). Benign conditions (47 · 7%) and no abnormality (18 · 2%) were common final classifications among women. There was no difference between the final classifications of patients who self-referred versus those who were formally referred from another health care provider. Nearly half of the participants (46 · 6%) travelled 20 km or more to attend the clinic. CONCLUSIONS: Benign breast conditions far outweighed cancer diagnoses. As breast cancer awareness increases in resource-limited countries, facilities offering breast care require administrative and clinical preparation to manage a range of non-cancer related conditions.

The Edinburgh Malawi Cancer Partnership: helping to establish multidisciplinary cancer care in Blantyre, Malawi.

In response to the growing incidence of cancer in Malawi, a new oncology unit was established at the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, Blantyre. The unit opened in 2010, the first in the country, and is led by a single consultant oncologist. In 2012, a healthcare partnership was formed between the oncology and palliative care unit at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital and the Edinburgh Cancer Centre, UK. The principal objective of the partnership is to help develop high quality multidisciplinary cancer care in Malawi. Methods A needs assessment identified three priority areas for further improvement of cancer services: nurse-led treatment delivery; management of clinical data; and multidisciplinary working. The partnership received grant funding from the Scottish Government Malawi Development Programme in 2013 and a three year project plan was implemented. This has been conducted through a series of reciprocal training visits. Results Key achievements have been completion of a programme of oncology nursing education attended by 32 oncology nurses and other healthcare professionals, which has resulted in increased experience in cancer practice and standardisation of chemotherapy delivery procedures; development of a clinical database that enables prospective collection of data of all new patients with cancer and which links to the Malawi Cancer Registry; development of weekly multidisciplinary meetings involving oncology, gynaecology and surgery that has enabled a cross-specialty approach to patient care. Conclusion The Edinburgh Malawi Cancer Partnership is supporting nursing education, data use and cross-specialty collaboration that we are confident will improve cancer care in Malawi. Future work will focus on the further development of multidisciplinary breast cancer care and the development of a radiotherapy service for patients in Malawi.

Determining Family Needs on an Oncology Hospital Unit Using Interview, Art, and Survey.

A movement worldwide, and specifically new to our hospital, is the implementation of Patient- and Family-Centered Care. We were unsure, however, what the needs were of our patients' families. This triangulated study, on a 28-bed oncology unit, studied family members at the bedside. We asked family members what their needs were in a three-step process (open-ended interview, use of the Draw a Bridge art therapy technique, and the Family Inventory of Needs survey). Nineteen interviews revealed needs for physical comfort, emotional support, cultural sensitivity, recognition of help provided by family members and improved pain management. Art therapy revealed the stress of caregiving and helped to uncover unmet needs for interviewers to explore. The FIN identified that care at home after discharge was a major worry. Knowledge of family members' needs while a loved one is in the hospital allows for planning and provision of modalities to assist them in their caregiving.