Feasibility of a quality improvement strategy integrating psychosocial care into 28 medical cancer centers (HuCare project)

Abstract

Purpose: This study examines the development and feasibility of a quality improvement strategy for the translation of evidence-based psychosocial care into clinical practice.

Methods: The project involved all staff (oncologists, psychologists, and nurses) of the participating centers. Recommendations concerned: improvement of clinician communication skills; use of a patient question prompt list; assignment of a specialist nurse to each patient; screening for psychological distress and social needs; opportunity to attend a Point of Information and Support. The implementation strategy hinged on context analysis and problem solving. Four to six visits were held in each center by the project team to assist staff in identifying obstacles, finding solutions, and strengthening motivation. The primary variable was the adherence percentage to the recommendations (proportion of subjects receiving each intervention). The number of centers that failed to reach the objective was also reported (adherence percentage <75%).

Results: Twenty-seven of twenty-eight centers completed the study. Lack of resources was the most commonly perceived barrier preimplementation. Five-hundred-forty-five clinicians were actively involved in the project and completed training. The adherence percentage for each recommendation was greater than 85% except for the question prompt list (78%; 95% CI, 73-83%), where seven centers did not reach the objective.

Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate that evidence-based interventions to improve the psychosocial care of people with cancer can be implemented in a diverse range of oncology wards. This requires the involvement and motivation of the entire staff of the ward, support by an expert team, and promotion by policymakers.

Keywords: Communication skills; Oncology; Psychosocial care; Question prompt list; Social needs; Specialist nurse.