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Background: To direct limited specialized palliative care resources to patients in greatest need, we developed STEP (Symptom screening with Targeted Early Palliative care). STEP entails symptom screening (ESAS-r) at each oncology clinic visit and triggered alerts (for moderate-high physical and psychological symptoms) to a nurse who calls the patient to offer a palliative care clinic (PCC) visit. We conducted a phase III RCT to assess the impact of STEP versus usual care on quality of life and other patient-reported outcomes (PROs). Methods: Adults with advanced cancer were recruited from medical oncology clinics at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto, Canada. Consenting patients with oncologist-assessed ECOG 0-2 and estimated survival of 6-36 months were enrolled and block randomized (stratified by tumour site and symptom severity) to STEP or usual care. Participants completed measures of quality of life (FACT-G7), depression (PHQ-9), symptom control (ESASr-CS), and satisfaction with care (FAMCARE-P16) at baseline, 2, 4 and 6 months. The primary outcome was FACT-G7 at 6 months, with a planned sample size of 261/arm. Results: From 8/2019 to 3/2020, 69 patients were enrolled: 33 randomized to STEP and 36 to usual care. The trial was then halted permanently due to the COVID-19 pandemic, owing to substantial changes to elements of STEP (shift to virtual symptom screening and palliative care) and usual care (shift to virtual oncology care). Median age was 64 years (range 25-87) and 62% (43/69) were women;study arms were balanced at baseline except gender, with more women randomized to STEP. Within the STEP arm, 20 (61%) participants triggered a nurse's call to offer a PCC visit, of whom 13 attended the clinic at least once. All outcomes tended to be better in the STEP arm compared to usual care, particularly depression and satisfaction with care at 6 months;however, results were not statistically significant (Table). Conclusions: STEP holds promise for improving quality of life and other PROs in patients with advanced cancer and effectively directing early palliative care towards those who need it most. In response to the pandemic, an online version of STEP has been developed and a further trial is in progress.
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Introduction To direct scant specialized palliative care (PC) resources to patients in greatest need, we developed the STEP intervention (Symptom screening with Targeted Early Palliative care). STEP entails symptom screening with ESAS-r at each oncology visit and triggered alerts (for moderatehigh symptoms) to a nurse who calls the patient to offer a PC clinic visit. Methods Consenting adults with advanced cancer, ECOG 0-2, attending medical oncology clinics at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, were randomized to STEP or usual care. Participants completed quality of life (FACTG7), depression (PHQ-9), symptom control (ESASr-CS), and satisfaction with care (FAMCARE-P16) measures at baseline, 2, 4, and 6 months. The primary outcome was FACT-G7 at 6 months. Results From August 2019 to March 2020, 33 patients were randomized to STEP and 36 to usual care. The trial was subsequently permanently halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Groups were balanced at baseline except gender, with more females in the STEP arm (Table 1). In the STEP arm, 20 participants triggered a nurse 's call, of whom 13 had ≥1 PC clinic visit. At 6 months, all outcomes tended to be better in the STEP arm compared to usual care, particularly depression and satisfaction with care;however, results were not statistically significant (Table 2, Figure 1). Conclusions STEP holds promise for improving outcomes in patients with advanced cancer. An online version (eSTEP) is being developed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Introduction Early palliative care, delivered in oncology palliative care clinics (OPCCs) typically involves in-person visits, but virtual care visits were adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to explore patients' experiences of virtual visits to an OPCC at a tertiary cancer centre in Toronto, Canada during the pandemic. Methods One-on-one telephone interviews were conducted with patients who had a) at least one in-person visit to the OPCC prior to the pandemic, with subsequent virtual follow-up, or b) virtual visits only. Purposive sampling was used to ensure representation based on sex, age, distance from the cancer centre, and mode of virtual visits (telephone vs. video). Interviews were recorded and professionally transcribed;thematic analysis was used. Results Twenty-six patients were interviewed (17 had an in-person visit, 9 virtual only). Patients reported overall satisfaction with virtual care, appreciating that it reduced care disruption during the pandemic. An initial in-person visit was felt to assist with rapport-building with the team. Many participants wished to continue with virtual care beyond the pandemic, especially during periods of relative health stability. At transition points in care, or when advance care planning discussions were anticipated, inperson visits were preferred. Conclusions Virtual visits to the OPCC during the COVID-19 pandemic were feasible and appreciated by patients. The role of virtual care for select scenarios beyond the pandemic should be further explored.
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Background/aims: Early palliative care, delivered in oncology palliative care clinics (OPCCs) typically involves in-person visits. The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated rapid changes in the delivery of ambulatory care, and the adoption of virtual care where feasible. Aim: To determine the experiences of patients who switched from inperson to virtual visits to an OPCC at a tertiary cancer centre in Toronto, Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: One-on-one telephone interviews were conducted with patients who had at least one in-person visit to the OPCC prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and whose subsequent follow-up was switched to virtual visits. Purposive sampling was used to ensure representation based on sex, age, distance from their home to the cancer centre, and mode of virtual visits (telephone versus video). Interviews were recorded and professionally transcribed;thematic analysis was used. Results: Sixteen patients were interviewed, lasting between 20-60 minutes. Patients reported overall ease with the transition to virtual care, and appreciated that virtual care allowed for continuity of care without disruption during the pandemic. Previous in-person visits to the OPCC were felt to be advantageous in terms of rapport-building with the team, especially for the initial visit;non-verbal communication was highlighted. Many participants expressed a desire to have the option for virtual care beyond the pandemic, especially during periods of relative health stability. Conclusions: Virtual visits to the OPCC during the COVID-19 pandemic were feasible and appreciated by patients. The role of virtual care for select clinical scenarios beyond the pandemic should be further explored.