A call to action: The need for improved service coordination during early survivorship for women with breast cancer and partners

ABSTRACT

Survivorship is an under-recognized period in the care of women with breast cancer. This paper aimed to determine if supports provided by health services were adequate in meeting the expressed needs of women and partners during survivorship. A mixed-method study consisted of: (1) in-depth interviews with women (n = 18) and partners (n = 8) (completed June 2014–November 2014) and (2) a questionnaire with health providers (n = 34) (completed April 2015) regarding services offered, needs addressed, and barriers to service delivery. Both were completed in Perth, Western Australia. Findings were determined using thematic analysis and descriptive statistics. Many unmet needs were identified by women and partners, including: pain, fatigue, fear of recurrence, employment, leisure, and social and intimacy difficulties. Participants did not receive a formal plan to assist them. Health providers reported a range of supports, including cancer surveillance and management of physical, psychological, emotional, and relationship concerns. However, many barriers concerning service delivery were identified. Despite services reporting that they provided various supports, interview participants did not appear to use and benefit from these. Coordination of service delivery was identified as requiring improvement. The use of survivorship care plans also needs refinement to determine suitability for use during survivorship.

KEYWORDS:

• Breast cancer survivor
• coordination
• health service needs
• partners
• patient care planning

Acknowledgments

Gratitude is expressed to the many women and their partners who participated in interviews and service providers who completed questionnaires. Thanks also to BCNA for their assistance with recruitment of participants in stage one and Dr Elinda Lee for her assistance with the literature review.

Conflict of interest

Sharon Keesing, Lorna Rosenwax, and Bev McNamara declare that there are no competing interests with this work.

Compliance with ethical standards

All procedures performed in the study were in accordance with the ethical standards of Curtin University Human Research Ethics Committee and the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants in the study.