Supportive and Palliative Care research group: research projects
Below is a list of research projects in the field of supportive and palliative care.
BMH - Nursing - Supportive and Palliative Care: research - Ongoing studies
Follow-up in breast cancer clinics: reassuring for patients rather than detecting recurrence
Abstract
Despite evidence that questions the value of routine hospital follow-up after treatment for breast cancer, there is little evidence to indicate what actually takes place during follow-up consultations and whether patients benefit from the experience. This study aimed to investigate the nature and content of hospital follow-up visits following treatment for breast cancer using a mixed methods approach. Methods included direct observation and audio-recording of 104 consultations, semi-structured interviews with 14 health care professionals (HCP) involved in follow-up service provision and a patient survey. Consultations were focused on detection of recurrent disease by clinical examination, despite this being a rare event. HCPs’ style of interaction could foster the illusion that follow-up visits were intended to detect recurrence. Consultations were generally of brief duration (mean 6 minutes) and were overwhelmingly optimistic, although patients gained reassurance from minimal interaction. Few opportunities were available to m
Funding body
Medical Research Council Health Services Research award to Dr Kinta BeaverMembers of the project
Name | Role |
---|---|
Professor Kinta Beaver | Principal investigator |
Professor Karen Luker | Investigator |
Outputs
- Beaver, K., & Luker, K. A. (2005). Follow-up in breast cancer clinics: Reassuring for patients rather than detecting recurrence. Psycho-Oncology, 14(2), 94-101. DOI: 10.1002/pon.824. Publication link: cc0290c2-bac1-4bff-a3f6-8fd387b53fb6