ePoster
Presentations Description
Institution: SingHealth - Singapore, Singapore
Aims. Survivorship clinics improve cancer survivors’ overall health and well-being. Despite these benefits, such clinics have not been successfully implemented for Head and Neck Cancer (HNC) survivors in Singapore, highlighting a critical unmet need in survivorship care. This qualitative study aims to understand the needs of HNC patients and healthcare workers, to inform the design and implementation of an Advanced Practice Nurse (APN)-led HNC survivorship clinic.
Methodology. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with HNC patients and healthcare workers either in-person or via voice/video call according to participants’ preference. Interview questions were based on constructs from the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research relevant to the study aim.
Results. Twenty-two patients and 12 healthcare workers—clinicians of varying seniority and APNs—were interviewed. Most participants viewed the APN-led survivorship clinic positively. All but one healthcare worker found the clinic useful for patients. However, only 50% of patients were willing to transition to the clinic despite their perception that such a clinic would be useful. Perceived advantages of such clinics included psychosocial support and access to support groups. Key barriers in accessing or setting up the survivorship clinic are patient’s preference to remain under their doctor’s care and patient’s non-acceptance of APNs. Notable enablers are patients’ and clinicians’ trust and confidence in APNs in terms of their qualifications, skills, and experience. Stable patients with low risk of cancer recurrence could be targeted for the pilot survivorship clinic.
Conclusion. APN-led survivorship clinic has the potential to serve as the main model of care for eligible HNC survivors post treatment. Patient acceptance of APN-led survivorship clinic is a key barrier that needs to be addressed. Future efforts should focus on enhancing patient education and engagement to improve its acceptance.
Speakers
Authors
Authors
Dr Kimberley Kiong - , Ms Candelyn Pong - , Dr Alice Chua - , Ms Tania Javed - , Ms Linh Thai - , Dr Elaine Lum -
