Abstract
Introduction
An increasing number of people are living beyond cancer with unmet health needs. The aim of this study was to co-design a digital intervention to improve health outcomes for people who have completed potentially curative treatment for cancer.
Methods
Two co-design workshops were held with patients, clinicians (including oncologists, general practitioners and nurses), digital/computing science experts and third-sector representatives. At workshop one, problems and gaps in care were identified and intervention ideas were generated. At workshop two, a prototype intervention was discussed and refined.
Results
The workshops were attended by 43 people in total: 26 at event one and 23 at event two (six attended both events). Patients valued relationship-based care and felt supported during hospital treatment. Patients ‘fell off a cliff’ after discharge, and there was consensus that more could be done in primary care to support those living beyond cancer. It was proposed that cancer reviews could be integrated into UK primary care chronic disease management activities. A digital form, the ‘Structured Personalised Assessment for Reviews after Cancer’ (SPARC) tool, was developed to support asynchronous consultations that would cover the breadth of problems and health promotion activities required for high-quality primary care for cancer. SPARC could also identify those without problems who do not require review.
Conclusion
SPARC has been co-designed to support brief but comprehensive cancer review consultations between primary care clinicians and their patients. SPARC aligns with best practice guidelines. The next step is to evaluate SPARC with patients and in general practices.
An increasing number of people are living beyond cancer with unmet health needs. The aim of this study was to co-design a digital intervention to improve health outcomes for people who have completed potentially curative treatment for cancer.
Methods
Two co-design workshops were held with patients, clinicians (including oncologists, general practitioners and nurses), digital/computing science experts and third-sector representatives. At workshop one, problems and gaps in care were identified and intervention ideas were generated. At workshop two, a prototype intervention was discussed and refined.
Results
The workshops were attended by 43 people in total: 26 at event one and 23 at event two (six attended both events). Patients valued relationship-based care and felt supported during hospital treatment. Patients ‘fell off a cliff’ after discharge, and there was consensus that more could be done in primary care to support those living beyond cancer. It was proposed that cancer reviews could be integrated into UK primary care chronic disease management activities. A digital form, the ‘Structured Personalised Assessment for Reviews after Cancer’ (SPARC) tool, was developed to support asynchronous consultations that would cover the breadth of problems and health promotion activities required for high-quality primary care for cancer. SPARC could also identify those without problems who do not require review.
Conclusion
SPARC has been co-designed to support brief but comprehensive cancer review consultations between primary care clinicians and their patients. SPARC aligns with best practice guidelines. The next step is to evaluate SPARC with patients and in general practices.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | e70174 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Health Expectations |
| Volume | 28 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Early online date | 6 Feb 2025 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Feb 2025 |
Bibliographical note
Open access via the Wiley AgreementWe would like to thank all the participants who gave their time to attend our workshops and to the administrative staff in Academic Primary Care, University of Aberdeen for their assistance with administration of the events.
Data Availability Statement
The data generated during this study are not publicly available because participants did not consent to data sharing. The authors would be happy to share relevant anonymised excerpts from transcripts/longer quotations on reasonable request. Raw data in the form of participant quotations are included throughout this paper to illustrate the key points.Funding
Chief Scientist Office, Scottish Government Health and Social Care Directorate (GrantNumber(s): SCAF/18/02)
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Chief Scientist Office | SCAF/18/02 |
Keywords
- Humans
- Neoplasms/therapy
- Primary Health Care
- United Kingdom
- Cancer Survivors
Access to Document
- Adams_etal_HE_Co-design_of_the_Structured_VOR
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.