Towards improving the co-ordination of supportive cancer care services in the community.
In this paper an evaluation approach to assess the co-ordination of supportive community cancer care is presented. The aim of the study was to identify current gaps in co-ordination of services in a selected region in the province of Ontario, Canada, determine how consistent these gaps were across the province of Ontario, and develop service design considerations for improving the co-ordination of supportive cancer care services in the province of Ontario. The study addressed services required by two populations -clients who had been recently diagnosed and those in the palliative stages of cancer. The evaluation was theory-driven and incorporated evidence from three methods: a systematic literature review, a community case study and a provincial scan. The results revealed the absence of a formal supportive cancer care system and a complex community care system. Supportive cancer care was shown to be delivered by a range of generalist programs that lacked specialisation in addressing the unique needs of cancer clients. In addition, there was no clear evidence of leadership for co-ordinating supportive cancer care, where client care was most often provided by multiple programs at any given point in time. The study generated recommendations to improve co-ordination of supportive cancer care at both the administrative as well as direct care level.
The Supportive Cancer Care Research Unit, Hamilton Regional Cancer Centre, Hamilton, Ont., Canada. brazilk@mcmaster.ca
Kevin
K
Brazil
Tim
T
Whelan
Mary Ann
MA
O'Brien
Jonathan
J
Sussman
Nancy
N
Pyette
Daryl
D
Bainbridge
D003153:Community Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003266:Continuity of Patient Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D017598:Efficiency, Organizational; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy*; D009864:Ontario; D010166:Palliative Care