Optimizing Registered Nurse Roles in the Delivery of Cancer Survivorship Care within Primary Care Settings

IntroductionUniversal access to preventative healthcare is essential to children’s health. Registered nurses (RN) are well positioned to deliver well-child care within primary care settings; however, RN role implementation varies widely in this sector and the scope of literature that examines the influence of organisational attributes on nursing contributions to well-child care is not well understood. The aim of this scoping review is to identify the scope and characteristics of the literature related to organisational attributes that act as barriers to, or facilitators for RN delivery of well-child care within the context of primary care in high-income countries.Methods and analysisThe Joanna Briggs Institute scoping review methodology will be used to conduct this review. Databases that will be accessed include Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), MEDLINE and Embase. Inclusion criteria includes articles with a focus on RNs who deliver well-child care in primary care settings. Literature that meets this inclusion criteria will be included in the study. Covidence software platform will be used to review citations and full-text articles. Titles, abstracts and full-text articles will be reviewed independently by two reviewers. Any disagreements that arise between the reviewers will be resolved through discussion, or with an additional reviewer. Data will be extracted and organised according to the dimensions outlined in the nursing care organisation conceptual framework (NCOF). Principles of the ‘best fit’ framework synthesis will guide the data analysis approach and the NCOF will act as the framework for data coding and analysis.Ethics and disseminationThis scoping review will undertake a secondary analysis of data already published and does not require ethical approval. Findings will be disseminated via peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations targeting stakeholders involved in nursing practice and the delivery of well-child care.Trial registration detailsBraithwaite, S., Tranmer, J., Lukewich, J., & Macdonald, D. (2021, March 31). Protocol for a Scoping Review of the Influence of Organisational Attributes on Registered Nurse Contributions to Well-child Care. https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/UZYX5.

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Delivering colon cancer survivorship care in primary care; a qualitative study on the experiences of general practitioners

BMC Primary Care ◽

10.1186/s12875-021-01610-w ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 23 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Julien A. M. Vos ◽

Robin de Best ◽

Laura A. M. Duineveld ◽

Henk C. P. M. van Weert ◽

Kristel M. van Asselt

Keyword(s):

Primary Care ◽

Colon Cancer ◽

Cancer Survivorship ◽

Daily Practice ◽

System Level ◽

Normalisation Process Theory ◽

Survivorship Care ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Delivery Of Care ◽

Roles And Responsibilities

Abstract Background With more patients in need of oncological care, there is a growing interest to transfer survivorship care from specialist to general practitioner (GP). The ongoing I CARE study was initiated in 2015 in the Netherlands to compare (usual) surgeon- to GP-led survivorship care, with or without access to a supporting eHealth application (Oncokompas). Methods Semi-structured interviews were held at two separate points in time (i.e. after 1- and 5-years of care) to explore GPs’ experiences with delivering this survivorship care intervention, and study its implementation into daily practice. Purposive sampling was used to recruit 17 GPs. Normalisation Process Theory (NPT) was used as a conceptual framework. Results Overall, delivering survivorship care was not deemed difficult and dealing with cancer repercussions was already considered part of a GPs’ work. Though GPs readily identified advantages for patients, caregivers and society, differences were seen in GPs’ commitment to the intervention and whether it felt right for them to be involved. Patients’ initiative with respect to planning, absence of symptoms and regular check-ups due to other chronic care were considered to facilitate the delivery of care. Prominent barriers included GPs’ lack of experience and routine, but also lack of clarity regarding roles and responsibilities for organising care. Need for a monitoring system was often mentioned to reduce the risk of non-compliance. GPs were reticent about a possible future transfer of survivorship care towards primary care due to increases in workload and financial constraints. GPs were not aware of their patients’ use of eHealth. Conclusions GPs’ opinions and beliefs about a possible future role in colon cancer survivorship care vary. Though GPs recognize potential benefit, there is no consensus about transferring survivorship care to primary care on a permanent basis. Barriers and facilitators to implementation highlight the importance of both personal and system level factors. Conditions are put forth relating to time, reorganisation of infrastructure, extra personnel and financial compensation. Trial registration Netherlands Trial Register; NTR4860. Registered on the 2nd of October 2014.

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Risk-Stratified Pathways for Cancer Survivorship Care: Insights from a Deliberative Multi-Stakeholder Consultation

Current Oncology ◽

10.3390/curroncol28050295 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 28 (5) ◽

pp. 3408-3419

Author(s):

Dominique Tremblay ◽

Nassera Touati ◽

Karine Bilodeau ◽

Catherine Prady ◽

Susan Usher ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Primary Care ◽

Risk Stratification ◽

Cancer Survivorship ◽

Primary Care Physicians ◽

Primary Care Providers ◽

Survivorship Care ◽

Care Providers ◽

Stakeholder Consultation ◽

Cancer Specialists ◽

Multi Stakeholder

Risk-stratified pathways of survivorship care seek to optimize coordination between cancer specialists and primary care physicians based on the whole person needs of the individual. While the principle is supported by leading cancer institutions, translating knowledge to practice confronts a lack of clarity about the meaning of risk stratification, uncertainties around the expectations the model holds for different actors, and health system structures that impede communication and coordination across the care continuum. These barriers must be better understood and addressed to pave the way for future implementation. Recognizing that an innovation is more likely to be adopted when user experience is incorporated into the planning process, a deliberative consultation was held as a preliminary step to developing a pilot project of risk-stratified pathways for patients transitioning from specialized oncology teams to primary care providers. This article presents findings from the deliberative consultation that sought to understand the perspectives of cancer specialists, primary care physicians, oncology nurses, allied professionals, cancer survivors and researchers regarding the following questions: what does a risk stratified model of cancer survivorship care mean to care providers and users? What are the prerequisites for translating risk stratification into practice? What challenges are involved in establishing these prerequisites? The multi-stakeholder consultation provides empirical data to guide actions that support the development of risk-stratified pathways to coordinate survivorship care.

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