Patient Perspectives on Shared Care following Colorectal Cancer Surgery
Colorectal cancer is the second-most common cancer in
Australia. The good news is that the age-standardised mortality rate almost
halved between 1982 and 2011. This means that more people are
surviving bowel cancer and requiring follow-up services, placing a greater
demand on hospitals and specialist care. Research so far shows that
surveillance in primary care can be just as good as in secondary care
facilities; however there is often a lack of communication and coordination
between the different health professionals sharing the care of patients
following surgery for colorectal cancer. Furthermore, patients from
minority backgrounds appear to have poorer health outcomes following colorectal
cancer, and they may face additional barriers to receiving quality care.
This project will help us better understand the experiences
of patient following their colorectal cancer surgery. In particular, we
would like to explore their perception on how their care was shared amongst
various health professionals in the community setting. Southwest Sydney
is one of the most culturally diverse regions in Australia. We will use a
narrative approach to interview patients who speak English, Spanish and
Vietnamese to hear their stories and develop insights into how to improve their
quality of care and health outcomes.
We are currently recruiting patients
to be interviewed for this project between December 2014 to September 30th, 2015. We
would be extremely grateful if you are able to help us publicise this study in
your general practice or community centre. Please click on the following
links to download publicity flyers and participant information sheets you can
print and display in your waiting room.
Colorectal shared care flyer in English (PDF, 444.86 KB) (opens in a new window),
Spanish (PDF, 146.41 KB) (opens in a new window) and Vietnamese (PDF, 404.68 KB) (opens in a new window).
Colorectal shared care participant
information sheet in English (PDF, 105.67 KB) (opens in a new window), Spanish (PDF, 86.84 KB) (opens in a new window) and Vietnamese (PDF, 132.78 KB) (opens in a new window).
Participants will receive a small
gift card in recognition of their time. This project has been approved by
the Western Sydney University Human Research and Ethics Committee, Approval Number H9067. Do
contact us for more information about this project on GPdept@westernsydney.edu.au or (02) 4620 3933. We will be able to explain this project further
to enquirers in any of the above languages.