The Association of Oncology Social Work's Project to Assure Quality Cancer Care (APAQCC)

ABSTRACT

In 2014, the Association for Oncology Social Work (AOSW) established A Project to Assure Quality Cancer Care (APAQCC), a group of oncology social workers representing sixty-five Commission on Cancer (CoC)-accredited cancer programs across the US (including two in Canada). Its aims were (1) to examine the capacity of cancer programs to provide quality psychosocial support services, and (2) to evaluate the implementation of distress screening. The purpose of this paper is to describe how this collaborative research program was created and implemented under the auspices of AOSW, and to report on its impact on the oncology social workers who participated.

KEYWORDS:

• psychosocial
• practice-based research network
• quality assurance
• social work

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to acknowledge and express their gratitude to the clinical and administrative staff at all the cancer programs that participated in APAQCC: Ann B. Barshinger Cancer Institute – Lancaster General Health, Lancaster, PA; Aspirus Regional Cancer Center, Wausau, WI; Athens Regional Medical Center, Athens, GA; Atlanta Cancer Care, Decatur, GA; Avera Cancer Institute, Sioux Falls, SD; Baptist Health Louisville Cancer Care Center, Louisville, KY; Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA; Bon Secours Richmond Health System, Midlothian, VA; Carolinas HealthCare System, Rutherford College, NC; Catawba Valley Medical Center, Hickory, NC; Central Maine Medical Center, Lewiston, ME; City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA; Duke Cancer Center, Durham, NC; Ellis Fischel Cancer Center/University of Missouri Health Care, Columbia, MO; Emory Saint Joseph's Hospital, Atlanta, GA; Faxton St Lukes Healthcare- Faxton Cancer Center, Utica, NY; Good Samaritan Oncology/Hematology Associates, Lebanon, PA; GW, Medical Faculty Associates, Washington, DC; Hannibal Regional Hospital/James E Cary Cancer Center, Hannibal, MO; Health Alliance Hospital of the Hudson Valley, Kingston, NY; Henry Ford Health System – Josephine Ford Cancer Institute, Detroit, MI; Huntsman Cancer Institute, Salt Lake City, UT; Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, Cleveland, OH; Mary Bird Perkins-Our Lady fo the Lake Cancer Center, Baton Rouge, LA; Mayo Clinic Health System- La Crosse, LaCrosse, WI; Mayo Clinic Health System Mankato, Mankato, MN; McLeod Regional Medical Center, Florence, SC; Medstar Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, DC; Memorial Regional Cancer Center, South Bend, IN; Mercy Hospital and Medical Center, Chicago, IL; Mercy Medical Center, Cedar Rapids, IA; MetroHealth Cancer Care Center, Cleveland, OH; Mount Sinai Hospital, Chicago, IL; Nash Cancer Treatment Center, Rocky Mount, NC; Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago, IL; Oregon Health & Science University Knight Cancer Institute, Portland, OR; Park Ridge Health, Hendersonville, NC; Presbyterian Healthcare Services, Albuquerque, NH; Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto, ON; Promedica Hickman Cancer Center, Sylvania, OH; Providence Cancer Center, Portland, OR; Roger Williams Medical Center, Providence, RI; Sharp Memorial Hospital Outpatient Cancer Institute, San Diego, CA; St. Dominic Cancer Center, Jackson, MS; St. Joseph Comprehensive Cancer Center, Denver, CO; St. Jude Medical Center, Fullerton, CA; St. Luke's Hospital and Center for Cancer Care, Chesterfield, MO; St. Luke's Mountain States Tumor Institute, Boise, ID; St. Mary's Hospital Center, Montreal, Canada; Sutter Medical Center-Sutter Medical Foundation, Sacramento, CA; The Center for Cancer Prevention and Treatment- St. Joseph Hospital, Orange, CA; The Dale and Frances Hughes Cancer Center part of the Pocono Health System, East Stoudsburg, PA; The DeCesaris Cancer Institute at Anne Arundel Medical Center, Annapolis, MD; The Reading Hospital – McGlinn Cancer Institute, West Reading, PA; UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, Sacramento, CA; UM Upper Chesapeake Medical Center, Kaufman Cancer Center, Bel Air, MD; University of Colorado Cancer Center, Aurora, CO; University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center, Lexington, KY; Vermont Cancer Center/Fletcher Allen Health Care, Burlington, VT; Wellspan York Cancer Center, York, PA.

Additional information

Funding

APAQCC was funded and conducted under the auspices of the Association of Oncology Social Work (AOSW), with an educational grant provided by The Takeda Company.