- Title
- Patient-centred cancer care: a road less travelled: an investigation in Australian radiotherapy settings
- Creator
- Mackenzie, Lisa Jane
- Relation
- University of Newcastle Research Higher Degree Thesis
- Resource Type
- thesis
- Date
- 2014
- Description
- Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Description
- Cancer is a common health issue worldwide, with an estimated 30 million new diagnoses in the last five years. For over half of all newly diagnosed cancer patients, radiotherapy is recommended for cancer control or symptom relief. Despite the contribution that radiotherapy makes to extended survival of those diagnosed with cancer, this treatment is associated with a broad range of potential practical, physical and psychosocial impacts. To support patients dealing with this treatment burden, a holistic patient-centred approach to cancer care is needed. This thesis by publication reports on radiotherapy outpatients’ perceived experiences of cancer care, and the degree to which these experiences were responsive to their needs, values and preferences (i.e. patient-centred). The thesis introduction provides an overview of the burden of cancer worldwide and in Australia, and includes a review of the patient-centred cancer care literature, with a focus on radiotherapy settings. The five journal papers that comprise the thesis body report on findings from a cross-sectional study of cancer patients. Cancer patients were recruited from the radiotherapy treatment waiting rooms of four Australian metropolitan treatment centres during 2010. Radiotherapy outpatients’ perceptions of care were examined across three areas that resonate with the cancer care experience: (1) Life expectancy disclosure (Papers One and Two) (2) Psychosocial well-being and support preferences (Papers Three and Four) (3) Quality of patient-centred care (Paper Five). The thesis discussion provides an overview of the strengths and limitations of this work, and implications of this thesis for future research. The study that forms the basis of this thesis is the first large Australian study in radiotherapy settings to assess cancer outpatients’ preferences and experiences for patient-centred care. Study limitations include the restriction to English-speaking-cancer patients in metropolitan radiotherapy treatment centres, and the use of a cross-sectional design. Future research should move toward developing interventions that could be appropriate for improving patient-centred cancer care for patients receiving radiotherapy.
- Subject
- cancer; oncology; radiotherapy; patient centred care; patient preference; prognosis; anxiety; depression; HADS; touchscreen computers
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1043108
- Identifier
- uon:14167
- Rights
- Copyright 2014 Lisa Jane Mackenzie
- Language
- eng
- Full Text
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| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT01 | Abstract | 115 KB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download | ||
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT02 | Thesis | 20 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |