Michela Meregaglia1, John Cairns2, Salvatore Alfieri3, Federica Favales3, Daniela Mazzitelli4, Ester Orlandi5, Lisa Licitra3, Paolo Bossi3. 1. Faculty of Public Health and Policy, Department of Health Services Research and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK; Centre for Research on Health and Social Care Management (CERGAS), Bocconi University, Milan, Italy. Electronic address: michela.meregaglia@unibocconi.it. 2. Faculty of Public Health and Policy, Department of Health Services Research and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK; CCBIO, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway. 3. Head and Neck Medical Oncology Department, IRCCS Foundation National Cancer Institute, Milan, Italy. 4. School of Short Integrated Psychotherapy, ISeRDiP, Milan, Italy. 5. Radiation Therapy Department, IRCCS Foundation National Cancer Institute, Milan, Italy.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: There are no commonly accepted standards for monitoring patients treated for head and neck cancer. The aim of this study was to assess patients' preferences for different aspects of follow-up. METHODS: A best-worst survey was conducted in a sample of head and neck cancer patients in clinical follow-up at the National Cancer Institute (Milan, Italy). Conditional logit regression with choice as the dependent variable was run to analyse the data. A covariate-adjusted analysis was performed in order to identify socio-demographic and clinical factors related to the selection of best-worst items. The participants were asked to report any difficulties encountered during the survey. RESULTS: A total of 143 patients, predominantly male (74%) and with a mean age of 58 years were enrolled in the survey. The strongest positive preference was expressed for a hospital-based program of physical examinations with frequency decreasing over time. Conversely, the lowest valued item was not performing any positron emission tomography (PET) scan during follow-up. Patients with high educational levels were more likely to value attending a primary care-based program and undergoing intensive radiological investigations. Other patient-specific variables significantly associated with the choice of items were employment and living status, time already spent in follow-up and number of treatments received. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, patients were more likely to choose an intensive follow-up scheme broadly consistent with the program currently administered by the hospital. There is little evidence of preference heterogeneity that might justify customized programs based on demographics. The best-worst scaling task appeared feasible for most participants.
OBJECTIVES: There are no commonly accepted standards for monitoring patients treated for head and neck cancer. The aim of this study was to assess patients' preferences for different aspects of follow-up. METHODS: A best-worst survey was conducted in a sample of head and neck cancerpatients in clinical follow-up at the National Cancer Institute (Milan, Italy). Conditional logit regression with choice as the dependent variable was run to analyse the data. A covariate-adjusted analysis was performed in order to identify socio-demographic and clinical factors related to the selection of best-worst items. The participants were asked to report any difficulties encountered during the survey. RESULTS: A total of 143 patients, predominantly male (74%) and with a mean age of 58 years were enrolled in the survey. The strongest positive preference was expressed for a hospital-based program of physical examinations with frequency decreasing over time. Conversely, the lowest valued item was not performing any positron emission tomography (PET) scan during follow-up. Patients with high educational levels were more likely to value attending a primary care-based program and undergoing intensive radiological investigations. Other patient-specific variables significantly associated with the choice of items were employment and living status, time already spent in follow-up and number of treatments received. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, patients were more likely to choose an intensive follow-up scheme broadly consistent with the program currently administered by the hospital. There is little evidence of preference heterogeneity that might justify customized programs based on demographics. The best-worst scaling task appeared feasible for most participants.
Authors: Petr Szturz; Carl Van Laer; Christian Simon; Dirk Van Gestel; Jean Bourhis; Jan B Vermorken Journal: Front Oncol Date: 2020-05-06 Impact factor: 6.244