Patient and Provider Attitudes and Preferences Regarding Early Palliative Care Delivery for Patients with Advanced Gastrointestinal Cancers: A Prospective Survey.

Early integrated palliative care (EIPC) for patients with advanced cancers requires the involvement of family doctors (FDs) and oncologists. We compared attitudes between patients and their providers regarding the delivery of EIPC. Patients with newly diagnosed incurable gastrointestinal (GI) cancer at a tertiary cancer centre in Ontario, Canada, were surveyed using a study-specific instrument regarding the importance of and preferences for accessing support across eight domains of palliative care. Physicians within the circle of care completed a parallel survey for each patient. The concordance between patient and physician responses was analyzed. A total of 66 patients were surveyed (median age 69, 35% female). All had an oncologist, 12% had a specialist palliative care provider (SPC), and 97% had an FD, but only 41% listed the FD as part of the care team. In total, 95 providers responded (oncologist = 68, FD = 21, SPC = 6; response rate 92%; 1-3 physician responses per patient). Disease management and physical concerns were most important to patients. Patients preferred to access care in these domains from oncologists or SPCs. For all other domains, most patients attributed primary responsibility to self or family rather than any healthcare provider. Thus, concordance was poor between patient and physician responses. Across most domains of palliative care, we found low agreement between cancer patients and their physicians regarding responsibilities for care, with FDs appearing to have limited involvement at this stage.

Integration of child life into adult oncology: A mixed-methods feasibility study.

BACKGROUND: Cancer in a loved one can have negative effects on child health and development. Child Life Specialists (CLSs) specialize in assisting children understand and cope with difficult medical scenarios but are generally not available in adult care facilities to support the needs of patient-families with minor children. We conducted a mixed-methods study of the implementation of a pilot CLS program at a tertiary oncology centre. METHODS: We collected administrative and clinical data on referred families; encounter data; and patient-reported questionnaire data before and 2 months after engagement with the program. RESULTS: Over the initial 10 months, 98 families were referred, 91 of whom engaged through a total of 257 clinical encounters. The cancer patient in the family was most commonly a woman with a mean age of 45 years and in the role of mother. Breast cancer was the most common diagnosis (24%) and 78% of patients had stage IV disease. Most families had >1 child at home, and children were most commonly school-aged (5-14y). Phone and Hospital/Clinic visits accounted for the largest portion of CLS time. Interventions ranged from diagnosis education through to bereavement support. Most cancer patients indicated that the program was helpful to them and their families. There were trends of moderate improvements on patient reported outcomes. CONCLUSION: Our study was able to provide an understanding of the initial CLS program operations to guide program development and future study. Such a program holds promise as an important aspect of adult oncology family-centered care.

Education modalities for serious illness communication training: A scoping review on the impact on clinician behavior and patient outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Several clinician training interventions have been developed in the past decade to address serious illness communication. While numerous studies report on clinician attitudes and confidence, little is reported on individual education modalities and their impact on actual behavior change and patient outcomes. AIM: To examine what is known about the education modalities used in serious illness communication training and their impact on clinician behaviors and patient outcomes. DESIGN: A scoping review using the Joanna Briggs Methods Manual for Scoping Reviews was conducted to examine studies measuring clinician behaviors or patient outcomes. DATA SOURCES: Ovid MEDLINE and EMBASE databases were searched for English-language studies published between January 2011 and March 2023. RESULTS: The search identified 1317 articles: 76 met inclusion criteria describing 64 unique interventions. Common education modalities used were: single workshop (n = 29), multiple workshops (n = 11), single workshop with coaching (n = 7), and multiple workshops with coaching (n = 5); though they were inconsistently structured. Studies reporting improved clinician skills tended to be in simulation settings with neither clinical practice nor patient outcomes explored. While some studies reported behavior changes or improved patient outcomes, they did not necessarily confirm improvements in clinician skills. As multiple modalities were commonly used and often embedded within quality improvement initiatives, the impact of individual modalities could not be determined. CONCLUSION: This scoping review of serious illness communication interventions found heterogeneity among education modalities used and limited evidence supporting their effectiveness in impacting patient-centered outcomes and long-term clinician skill acquisition. Well-defined educational modalities and consistent measures of behavior change and standard patient-centered outcomes are needed.

"There's So Much More Support We Could Have Provided": Child Life Specialists' Stories of the Challenges Working in Adult Oncology.

A cancer diagnosis in patients who are parents of minor children is uniquely stressful for both parents and children. Children need developmentally appropriate information and support to help reduce their fears and worries. Child life specialists (CLSs) are health professionals who work in pediatric environments to support children and families with the stress and uncertainty of illnesses. Increasingly, CLSs have been called upon to support children of patients in adult clinical environments. Our objective was to elucidate CLS caregiving narratives related to working with children of adult cancer patients. We used narrative inquiry to interview four CLSs working in adult oncology. Canadian CLSs who have experience providing care for children and families affected by parental cancer were recruited via convenience sampling. We used narrative analysis methods that included multiple close reads of the data, generating narrative themes, and noting conflicts or tensions in the data. CLSs' caregiving stories often highlighted the complexities of working in an adult oncology environment. Their narratives included challenges in providing optimal care to the children, including family-level barriers (such as parental wishes to withhold information from their children) and systemic barriers (such as late referrals and limited options for bereavement support). CLS participants identified several challenges of working with families in adult oncology. The CLSs highlighted a desire for additional institutional support for children of adult oncology patients and for themselves working in these environments in order to achieve what they believed to be optimal care.

Implementing palliative care education into primary care practice: a qualitative case study of the CAPACITI pilot program.

BACKGROUND: CAPACITI is a virtual education program that teaches primary care teams how to provide an early palliative approach to care. After piloting its implementation, we conducted an in-depth qualitative study with CAPACITI participants to assess the effectiveness of the components and to understand the challenges and enablers to virtual palliative care education. METHODS: We applied a qualitative case study approach to assess and synthesize three sources of data collected from the teams that participated in CAPACITI: reflection survey data, open text survey data, and focus group transcriptions. We completed a thematic analysis of these responses to gain an understanding of participant experiences with the intervention and its application in practice. RESULTS: The CAPACITI program was completed by 22 primary care teams consisting of 159 participants across Ontario, Canada. Qualitative data was obtained from all teams, including 15 teams that participated in focus groups and 21 teams that provided reflection survey data on CAPACITI content and how it translated into practice. Three major themes arose from cross-analysis of the data: changes in practice derived from involvement in CAPACITI, utility of specific elements of the program, and barriers and challenges to enacting CAPACITI in practice. Importantly, participants reported that the multifaceted approach of CAPACITI was helpful to them building their confidence and competence in applying a palliative approach to care. CONCLUSIONS: Primary care teams perceived the CAPACITI facilitated program as effective towards incorporating palliative care into their practices. CAPACITI warrants further study on a national scale using a randomized trial methodology. Future iterations of CAPACITI need to help mitigate barriers identified by respondents, including team fragmentation and system-based challenges to encourage interprofessional collaboration and knowledge translation.

Outcome measures in palliative care training interventions: a systematic review of trial-based studies.

BACKGROUND: The ability of health care clinicians to offer a palliative approach to care to their patients with progressive, life-limiting illness has become critical as demand for these services increases. Numerous training initiatives exist to assist clinicians who are not palliative care specialists in the development of palliative care skills, however there is little consensus on how to best measure the effectiveness of these education programs. We conducted a systematic review of palliative care training intervention trials to examine the outcomes measures used. METHODS: We searched MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Embase, HealthSTAR, and five trial registries for studies and protocols published since 2000. Eligible studies were trials assessing palliative care training for clinicians. Interventions had to address at least two of six palliative care-related domains, based on the National Consensus Project: identification or assessment; illness understanding; symptom management; decision making (e.g., advance care planning); coping (patient and caregivers); and referral (coordination/care planning). Each article was reviewed independently by a minimum of two reviewers for inclusion and extraction of relevant data. RESULTS: Of 1,383 articles reviewed, 36 studies met the inclusion criteria, 16 (44%) of which focused on palliative care communication skills. Among all the trials, 190 different measures were reported. Only 11 validated measures were used in at least 2 studies, including the End-of-Life Professional Caregiver Survey (EPCS) for clinicians and the Quality of Dying and Death Questionnaire (QODD) for caregivers. Clinician and patient/caregiver reported outcomes were measured in 75% and 42% of studies, respectively. Half of the trials employed a study-created questionnaire. Data from administrative (n=14) and/or qualitative (n=7) sources were also used. Nine studies, almost exclusively those with a communication skills focus, assessed clinician interactions as an outcome. CONCLUSIONS: We found considerable diversity in outcomes among the trials reviewed. Further examination of the outcomes used in the broader literature and development of these measures is needed. This will assist towards establishing meaningful and consistent metrics for assessing the impact of palliative care education, to inform evidence-based scaling of effective programs.

Optimizing Cancer Survivorship Care: Examination of Factors Associated with Transition to Primary Care.

Healthcare systems in Canada and elsewhere have identified the need to develop methods to effectively and safely transition appropriate cancer survivors to primary care. It is generally accepted that survivors with a low risk of adverse events, including recurrence and toxicity, should be more systematically identified and offered transition. There remains a lack of clarity about what constitutes an appropriate profile that would assist greater application in practice. To address this gap, we examined the clinical profiles of patients that were transitioned from a large regional cancer centre to the community. The factors examined included disease site, clinical stage, time since diagnosis/first consult, cancer treatments, and Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS) scores. In total, 2604 patients were identified as transitioned between 2013 and 2020. These patients tended to have common cancers (e.g., breast, endometrium, colorectal) that were generally of lower stage. Half of the patients had received chemotherapy and/or radiation treatment. Nearly one-third of survivors were transitioned within a year of first consult and a third after five years. Most patients reported minimal symptoms based on ESAS scores prior to being transitioned. This study represents one of the first to analyze the types of cancer patients that are being selected for transition to primary care.

Increasing palliative care capacity in primary care: study protocol of a cluster randomized controlled trial of the CAPACITI training program.

BACKGROUND: Primary care providers play a critical role in providing early palliative care to their patients. Despite the availability of clinical education on best practices in palliative care, primary care providers often lack practical guidance to help them operationalize this approach in practice. CAPACITI is a virtual training program aimed at providing practical tips, strategies, and action plans to provide an early palliative approach to care. The entire program consists of 12 sessions (1 h each), divided evenly across three modules: (1) Identify and Assess; (2) Enhance Communication Skills; (3) Coordinate for Ongoing Care. We report the protocol for our planned evaluation of CAPACITI on its effectiveness in helping primary care providers increase their identification of patients requiring a palliative approach to care and to strengthen other core competencies. METHODS: A cluster randomized controlled trial evaluating two modes of CAPACITI program delivery: 1) self-directed learning, consisting of online access to program materials; and 2) facilitated learning, which also includes live webinars where the online materials are presented and discussed. The primary outcomes are 1) percent of patients identified as requiring palliative care (PC), 2) timing of first initiation of PC, and self-reported PC competency (EPCS tool). Secondary outcomes include self-reported confidence in PC, practice change, and team collaboration (AITCS-II tool), as well as qualitative interviews. Covariates that will be examined are readiness for change (ORCA tool), learning preference, and team size. Primary care teams representing interdisciplinary providers, including physicians, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, care coordinators, and allied health professionals will be recruited from across Canada. The completion of all three modules is expected to take participating teams a total of six months. DISCUSSION: CAPACITI is a national trial aimed at behavior change in primary care providers. This research will help inform future palliative care educational initiatives for generalist health care providers. Specifically, our findings will examine the effectiveness of the two models of education delivery and the participant experience associated with each modality. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05120154.

Effectiveness of Training Programs About a Palliative Care Approach: A Systematic Review of Intervention Trials for Health Care Professionals.

Background: Palliative care (PC) training initiatives have proliferated to assist generalist health care providers (HCPs) develop skills for applying an early PC approach. To date, there is little synthesis of high-level evidence to review the content and effectiveness of these programs. To address this gap in knowledge, we conducted a systematic review of trials of training inventions to build PC competency in HCPs, according to PRISMA guidelines (PROSPERO registration no. 271741). Materials and Methods: We searched MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL, HealthSTAR, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and Clinical Trials for studies published since 2000. Eligible studies were trials assessing PC training for HCPs. Interventions had to address at least two of six PC-related components, adapted from the National Consensus Project: identification or assessment; illness understanding; symptom management; decision making; coping; and referral. Two reviewers independently assessed articles for inclusion, using Rayyan, and extracted relevant data. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane ROB2 or ROBINS-I tools. Results: Of 1209 articles reviewed, 22 studies met the inclusion criteria, with the majority being conducted in the United States (n = 9) or Europe (n = 8). Nearly all studies (n = 19) collected data through self-reported surveys; administrative (n = 4), clinical outcomes (n = 4), or interaction analysis (n = 6) data were also or solely used. Interventions featured didactic, skill-based training followed by role-play and/or individual coaching. Communication around illness understanding was the most taught PC component. Few interventions involved comprehensive PC training, with 12 studies representing 3 or less of the 6 framework components. Most studies (n = 16) reported a significant positive impact on at least one outcome, most often HCP self-reported outcomes. Conclusions: While many of these interventions demonstrated improved confidence among HCPs in the PC components taught, findings were mixed on more objective outcome measures. Further trial-based evidence is required on comprehensive PC training to help inform these interventions.

Building Palliative Care Capacity for Generalist Providers in the Community: Results From the Capaciti Pilot Education Program.

Objective: Primary care providers play an important role in providing early palliative care, however they often lack practical supports to operationalize this approach in practice. CAPACITI is a virtual training program aimed at providing practical tips, strategies, and action plans to help primary care providers offer an early palliative approach to care. The CAPACITI pilot program consisted of 10 facilitated, monthly training sessions, covering identification and assessment, communication, and engaging caregivers and specialists. We present the findings of an evaluation of the pilot program. Method: We conducted a single cohort study of primary care providers who participated in CAPACITI. Study outcomes were the change in the percentage of caseload reported as requiring palliative care and improved confidence in competencies measured on a 20-item, study-created survey. Pre and post survey data were analyzed using paired t-tests. Results: Twenty-two teams representing 127 care providers (including 36 physicians and 28 Nurse Practitioners) completed CAPACITI. Paired comparisons showed a moderate improvement in confidence across the competencies covered (.6 to 1.3 mean improvement across items using seven-point scales, all P < .05). Pre-CAPACITI, clinician prescribers (N = 32) identified a mean of 1.2% of their caseload requiring a palliative approach to care, which increased to 1.6% post-program (P = .02). Said differently, the total group of paired clinician prescribers identified 338 patients as requiring palliative care in their caseloads at baseline vs 482 patients following the intervention, for an overall increase of 144 patients in their collective caseloads. Conclusion: CAPACITI improved self-assessed palliative care identification and provider confidence in core competencies. The program demonstrated potential for building palliative care capacity in primary care teams.

The impact of the Caremongering social media movement: A convergent parallel mixed-methods study.

Public health responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as business restrictions, social distancing and lockdowns, had social and economic impacts on individuals and communities. Caremongering Facebook groups spread across Canada to support vulnerable individuals by providing a forum for sharing information and offering assistance. We sought to understand the specific impacts of Caremongering groups on individuals 1 year after the pandemic began. We used a convergent parallel mixed-methods approach that included semi-structured interviews with group moderators from 16 Caremongering groups and survey data from 165 group members. We used a constant comparative approach for thematic analysis of interview transcripts and open-ended text responses to the survey. We used source theme tables as joint displays to integrate interview and survey findings. Our results revealed five major themes: providing food, sharing information, supporting health and wellness, acquiring goods and services (non-food), and connecting communities. Respondents of our survey tended to be 35-65 years of age range, but reported helping adults of all ages. Our findings illustrate the potential of using a social media platform to connect with others and provide and access support. The Caremongering initiative demonstrates a community-driven, social media solution to issues such as isolation, loneliness and community health promotion.

Understanding the Attitudes and Beliefs of Oncologists Regarding the Transitioning and Sharing of Survivorship Care.

Transitioning survivorship care from oncologists to primary care physicians (PCPs) is a reasonable alternative to oncologist-led care. This study assessed oncologists' attitudes and beliefs regarding sharing/transitioning survivorship care. A prospective survey of oncologists within a regional cancer program assessing self-reported barriers and facilitators to sharing/transitioning survivorship care was disseminated. In total, 63% (n = 39) of surveyed oncologists responded. Patient preference (89%) and anxiety (84%) are key to transition of care decisions; reduced remuneration (95%) and fewer longitudinal relationships (63%) do not contribute. Oncologists agreed that more patients could be shared/transitioned. Barriers include treatment-related toxicities (82% agree), tumor-specific factors (60-90% agree) and perception of PCP willingness to participate in survivorship care (47% agree). Oncologists appear willing to share/transition more survivors to PCPs, though barriers exist that warrant further study. Understanding these issues is critical to developing policies supporting comprehensive survivorship care models that address both cancer and non-cancer health needs. The demonstrated feasibility of this project warrants a larger-scale survey of oncologists with respect to the transition of survivorship care to PCPs, to further inform effective interventions to support high-quality survivorship care.

#Caremongering: A community-led social movement to address health and social needs during COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: To combat social distancing and stay-at-home restrictions due to COVID-19, Canadian communities began a Facebook social media movement, #Caremongering, to support vulnerable individuals in their communities. Little research has examined the spread and use of #Caremongering to address community health and social needs. OBJECTIVES: We examined the rate at which #Caremongering grew across Canada, the main ways the groups were used, and differences in use by membership size and activity. METHODS: We searched Facebook Groups using the term "Caremongering" combined with the names of the largest population centres in every province and territory in Canada. We extracted available Facebook analytics on all the groups found, restricted to public groups that operated in English. We further conducted a content analysis of themes from postings in 30 groups using purposive sampling. Posted content was qualitatively analyzed to determine consistent themes across the groups and between those with smaller and larger member numbers. RESULTS: The search of Facebook groups across 185 cities yielded 130 unique groups, including groups from all 13 provinces and territories in Canada. Total membership across all groups as of May 4, 2020 was 194,879. The vast majority were formed within days of the global pandemic announcement, two months prior. There were four major themes identified: personal protective equipment, offer, need, and information. Few differences were found between how large and small groups were being used. CONCLUSIONS: The #Caremongering Facebook groups spread across the entire nation in a matter of days, engaging hundreds of thousands of Canadians. Social media appears to be a useful tool for spreading community-led solutions to address health and social needs.

Common care practices among effective community-based specialist palliative care teams: a qualitative study.

OBJECTIVE: Evidence has shown that, despite wide variation in models of care, community-based specialist palliative care teams can improve outcomes and reduce acute care use at end of life. The goal of this study was to explore similarities in care practices among effective and diverse specialist teams to inform the development of other community-based teams. METHODS: Interviews with 78 providers and administrators from 11 distinct community-based specialist palliative care teams from Ontario, Canada were conducted. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed using an inductive approach to identify common themes. RESULTS: 3 key themes across all teams emerged. First, the distinct models of care were generally summarised into 3 models: primary care and specialist providers either collaborated by transferring, sharing or consulting in care. Second, teams explicitly or implicitly followed 7 common care practices related to: specialised expertise 24/7; intrateam communication; timeliness; physical symptom and psychosocial-spiritual management; education; peace and fulfilment; and advocacy for patient preferences. Third, all teams emphasised the importance of team building, even more than using clinical tools and processes. CONCLUSIONS: Despite wide variation in models of care among community-based specialist palliative care teams, this large qualitative study identified several common themes in care practices that can guide the development of other teams.

Community-based specialist palliative care teams and health system costs at end of life: a retrospective matched cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Access to community-based specialist palliative care teams has been shown to improve patients' quality of life; however, the impact on health system expenditures is unclear. This study aimed to determine whether exposure to these teams reduces health system costs compared with usual care. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective matched cohort study in Ontario, Canada, using linked administrative data. Decedents treated by 1 of 11 community-based specialist palliative care teams in 2009/10 and 2010/11 (the exposed group) were propensity score matched (comorbidity, extent of home care, etc.) 1 to 1 to similar decedents in usual care (the unexposed group). The teams are comprised of a core group of specialized physicians, nurses and other providers; their role is to manage symptoms around the clock, provide education and coordinate care. Our primary outcome was the overall difference in health system costs (among 5 health care sectors) between all matched pairs of exposed versus unexposed patients in the last 30 days of life. RESULTS: The total cohort of decedents included 3109 matched pairs. Among matched pairs, the mean health system cost difference was $512 (95% confidence interval [CI] -$641 to -$383) lower in the last 30 days among exposed than among unexposed patients. In the last 30 days, the mean home care costs of the exposed group were $189 higher (95% CI -$151 to $227) than those of the unexposed group, but their mean hospital costs were $733 lower (95% CI -$950 to -$516). INTERPRETATION: Our study suggests that health system costs are lower for patients who have access to community-based specialist teams than for those who receive usual care alone, largely because of decreased hospital costs. Ensuring access to in-home palliative care support, as provided by these teams, is an efficacious strategy for reducing health care expenditures at the end of life.

Moving Cancer Care Ontario's Exercise for People with Cancer guidelines into oncology practice: using the Theoretical Domains Framework to validate a questionnaire.

Evidence supporting the benefits of exercise surrounding cancer treatment has led to internationally published guidelines, with minimal uptake by oncology care providers (OCPs). There is a need to understand how to implement research evidence into practice. Our team developed a questionnaire to assess OCPs' knowledge of exercise guidelines and barriers/facilitators to exercise counseling and program referral. We validated the questionnaire using the Theoretical Domains Framework, a knowledge translation (KT) framework used to implement evidence-based guidelines into practice. In this commentary, we describe this process and the rationale for integrating a KT framework into intervention development and implementation in oncology practice. The revised questionnaire, entitled Clinicians Perspectives on Exercise in Patients with Cancer (CliPEC), is shared to facilitate the implementation process and allow for comparison across oncology practices.

The development of specialized palliative care in the community: A qualitative study of the evolution of 15 teams.

BACKGROUND: Interprofessional specialized palliative care teams at home improve patient outcomes, reduce healthcare costs, and support many patients to die at home. However, practical details about how to develop home-based teams in different regions and health systems are scarce. AIM: To examine how a variety of home-based specialized palliative care teams created and grew their team over time and to identify critical steps in their evolution. DESIGN: A qualitative study was designed based on a grounded theory approach, using semi-structured interviews and other documentation. SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: In all, 15 specialized palliative care teams from Ontario, Canada, representing rural and urban areas. Data were collected from core members of the teams, including nurses, physicians, personal support workers, spiritual counselors, and administrators. RESULTS: In all, 122 individuals where interviewed, ranging from 4 to 10 per team. The analysis revealed four stages in team evolution: Inception, Start-up (n = 4 teams), Growth (n = 5), and Mature (n = 6). In the Inception stage, a champion provider was required to leverage existing resources to form the team. Start-up teams were testing and adjusting care processes to solidify their presence in the community. Growth teams had core expertise, relationships with fellow providers, and 24/7 support. Mature teams were fully integrated in the community, but still engaged in continuous quality improvement. CONCLUSION: Understanding the developmental stages of teams can help to inform the progress of other community-based teams. Appropriate outcome measures at each stage are also critical for team motivation and steady progress.

A Review of the Essential Components of Quality Palliative Care in the Home.

OBJECTIVE: The home is an important and often preferable setting of palliative care. While much research has demonstrated the benefits of specialized palliative homecare on patient and system outcomes, there has been little delineation of the underlying components of these efficacious programs. We synthesized the essential elements of palliative homecare from a combined review of successful programs, perspectives of patients and caregivers, and views of healthcare providers in palliative care. METHODS: Five unique palliative homecare studies were included in the rapid review and synthesis-(1) systematic review of the components of efficacious programs; (2) in-depth analysis of 11 effective community-based teams; (3) survey of bereaved caregivers; (4) survey of the general public; and (5) interviews of providers and administrators. A qualitative approach was used to identify transcending themes across the studies. RESULTS: Six essential elements of quality palliative homecare were common across the studies: (1) Integrated teamwork; (2) Management of pain and physical symptoms; (3) Holistic care; (4) Caring, compassionate, and skilled providers; (5) Timely and responsive care; and (6) Patient and family preparedness. CONCLUSIONS: Our metasynthesis of effective palliative homecare models, as well as, the values of those who use and provide these services, illuminates the underpinning elements of quality home-based care for patients with a life-limiting illness. However, the application of these elements must be relevant to the local community context. To create impactful, sustainable homecare programs, it is critical to capitalize on existing processes, partnerships, and assets.

Evaluation of a specialized oncology nursing supportive care intervention in newly diagnosed breast and colorectal cancer patients following surgery: a cluster randomized trial.

BACKGROUND: Better coordination of supportive services during the early phases of cancer care has been proposed to improve the care experience of patients. We conducted a randomized trial to test a community-based nurse-led coordination of care intervention in cancer patients. METHODS: Surgical practices were cluster randomized to a control group involving usual care practices or a standardized nursing intervention consisting of an in-person supportive care assessment with ongoing support to meet identified needs, including linkage to community services. Newly diagnosed breast and colorectal cancer patients within 7 days of cancer surgery were eligible. The primary outcome was the patient-reported outcome (PRO) of continuity of care (CCCQ) measured at 3 weeks. Secondary outcomes included unmet supportive care needs (SCNS), quality of life (EORTC QLQ-C30), health resource utilization, and level of uncertainty with care trajectory (MUIS) at 3 and/or 8 weeks. RESULTS: A total of 121 breast and 72 colorectal patients were randomized through 28 surgical practices. There was a small improvement in the informational domain of continuity of care (difference 0.29 p = 0.05) and a trend to less emergency room use (15.8 vs 7.1%) (p = 0.07). There were no significant differences between groups on unmet need, quality of life, or uncertainty. CONCLUSION: We did not find substantial gaps in the PROs measured immediately following surgery for breast and colorectal cancer patients. The results of this study support a more targeted approach based on need and inform future research focused on improving navigation during the initial phases of cancer treatment. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00182234. SONICS-Effectiveness of Specialist Oncology Nursing.

Palliative Care Experience in the Last 3 Months of Life: A Quantitative Comparison of Care Provided in Residential Hospices, Hospitals, and the Home From the Perspectives of Bereaved Caregivers.

OBJECTIVE: This study captured the end-of-life care experiences across various settings from bereaved caregivers of individuals who died in residential hospice. METHODS: A retrospective, observational design using the CaregiverVoice survey with bereaved caregivers of patients in 22 hospices in Ontario, Canada. The survey assessed various dimensions of the patient's care experiences across multiple care settings in the last 3 months of life. RESULTS: A total of 1153 caregivers responded to the survey (44% response rate). In addition to hospice care, caregivers reported that 74% of patients received home care, 61% had a hospitalization, 42% received care at a cancer center, and 10% lived in a nursing home. Most caregivers (84%-89%) rated the addressing of each support domain (relief of physical pain, relief of other symptoms, spiritual support, and emotional support) by hospice as either "excellent" or "very good." These proportions were less favorable for home care (40%-47%), cancer center (46%-54%), and hospital (37%-48%). Significantly, better experiences were reported for the last week of life where hospice was considered the main setting of care, opposed to other settings ( P < .0001 across domains). Overall, across settings pain management tended to be the highest-rated domain and spiritual support the lowest. CONCLUSION: This is one of few quantitative examinations of the care experience of patients who accessed multiple care settings in the last months of life and died in a specialized setting such as residential hospice. These findings emphasize the importance of replicating the hospice approach in institutional and home settings, including greater attention to emotional and spiritual dimensions of care.