Supportive care of patients diagnosed with high grade glioma and their carers in Australia

Georgia K B Halkett¹, Melissa N Berg^{2

3}, Davina Daudu^{2

4}, Haryana M Dhillon^{5

6}, Eng-Siew Koh^{7

8

9}, Tamara Ownsworth¹⁰, Elizabeth Lobb^{11

12

13}, Jane Phillips¹⁴, Danette Langbecker¹⁵, Meera Agar¹³, Elizabeth Hovey^{7

16

17}, Rachael Moorin^{18

19}, Anna K Nowak^{4

20}

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin School of Nursing, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Bentley, WA, 6005, Australia. g.halkett@curtin.edu.au.
² Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin School of Nursing, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Bentley, WA, 6005, Australia.
³ School of Nursing and Midwifery, The University of Notre Dame Australia, Fremantle, WA, Australia.
⁴ Medical School, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, WA, Australia.
⁵ Psycho-Oncology Cooperative Research Group, School of Psychology, Faculty of Science, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia.
⁶ Centre for Medical Psychology & Evidence-Based Decision-Making, School of Psychology, Faculty of Science, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia.
⁷ South West Sydney Clinical School, UNSW Medicine, University of New South Wales, Liverpool, NSW, Australia.
⁸ Liverpool and Macarthur Cancer Therapy Centres, Liverpool, Australia.
⁹ Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research, Liverpool, Australia.
¹⁰ School of Applied Psychology & The Hopkins Centre, Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
¹¹ Calvary Health Care Kogarah, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
¹² School of Medicine, The University of Notre Dame, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
¹³ Faculty of Health, University of Technology, Ultimo, NSW, Australia.
¹⁴ Faculty of Health, School of Nursing, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia.
¹⁵ Centre for Online Health and Centre for Health Services Research, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
¹⁶ Prince of Wales Clinical School, UNSW Medicine, University of New South Wales, Randwick, Australia.
¹⁷ Nelune Comprehensive Cancer Centre, Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick, Australia.
¹⁸ Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin School of Population Health, Curtin University, Bentley, WA, Australia.
¹⁹ School of Population and Global Health, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, WA, Australia.
²⁰ Department of Medical Oncology, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Nedlands, WA, Australia.

PMID: 35397081
PMCID: PMC8994178
DOI: 10.1007/s11060-022-03991-z

Supportive care of patients diagnosed with high grade glioma and their carers in Australia

Georgia K B Halkett et al. J Neurooncol. 2022 May.

. 2022 May;157(3):475-485.

doi: 10.1007/s11060-022-03991-z. Epub 2022 Apr 9.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin School of Nursing, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Bentley, WA, 6005, Australia. g.halkett@curtin.edu.au.
² Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin School of Nursing, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Bentley, WA, 6005, Australia.
³ School of Nursing and Midwifery, The University of Notre Dame Australia, Fremantle, WA, Australia.
⁴ Medical School, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, WA, Australia.
⁵ Psycho-Oncology Cooperative Research Group, School of Psychology, Faculty of Science, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia.
⁶ Centre for Medical Psychology & Evidence-Based Decision-Making, School of Psychology, Faculty of Science, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia.
⁷ South West Sydney Clinical School, UNSW Medicine, University of New South Wales, Liverpool, NSW, Australia.
⁸ Liverpool and Macarthur Cancer Therapy Centres, Liverpool, Australia.
⁹ Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research, Liverpool, Australia.
¹⁰ School of Applied Psychology & The Hopkins Centre, Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
¹¹ Calvary Health Care Kogarah, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
¹² School of Medicine, The University of Notre Dame, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
¹³ Faculty of Health, University of Technology, Ultimo, NSW, Australia.
¹⁴ Faculty of Health, School of Nursing, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia.
¹⁵ Centre for Online Health and Centre for Health Services Research, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
¹⁶ Prince of Wales Clinical School, UNSW Medicine, University of New South Wales, Randwick, Australia.
¹⁷ Nelune Comprehensive Cancer Centre, Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick, Australia.
¹⁸ Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin School of Population Health, Curtin University, Bentley, WA, Australia.
¹⁹ School of Population and Global Health, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, WA, Australia.
²⁰ Department of Medical Oncology, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Nedlands, WA, Australia.

PMID: 35397081
PMCID: PMC8994178
DOI: 10.1007/s11060-022-03991-z

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to: determine the supportive care available for Australian patients with High Grade Glioma (HGG) and their carers; identify service gaps; and inform changes needed to implement guidelines and Optimal Care Pathways.

Methods: This cross-sectional online survey recruited multidisciplinary health professionals (HPs) who were members of the Cooperative Trials Group for Neuro-Oncology involved in management of patients diagnosed with HGG in Australian hospitals. Descriptive statistics were calculated. Fisher's exact test was used to explore differences between groups.

Results: 42 complete responses were received. A majority of MDT meetings were attended by a: neurosurgeon, radiation oncologist, medical oncologist, radiologist, and care coordinator. Less than 10% reported attendance by a palliative care nurse; physiotherapist; neuropsychologist; or speech therapist. Most could access referral pathways to a cancer care coordinator (76%), neuropsychologist (78%), radiation oncology nurse (77%), or psycho-oncologist (73%), palliative care (93-100%) and mental health professionals (60-85%). However, few routinely referred to an exercise physiologist (10%), rehabilitation physician (22%), dietitian (22%) or speech therapist (28%). Similarly, routine referrals to specialist mental health services were not standard practice. Nearly all HPs (94%) reported HGG patients were advised to present to their GP for pre-existing conditions/comorbidities; however, most HPs took responsibility (≤ 36% referred to GP) for social issues, mental health, symptoms, cancer complications, and treatment side-effects.

Conclusions: While certain services are accessible to HGG patients nationally, improvements are needed. Psychosocial support, specialist allied health, and primary care providers are not yet routinely integrated into the care of HGG patients and their carers despite these services being considered essential in clinical practice guidelines and optimal care pathways.

Keywords: Brain tumor cancer health professional psychosocial support; Carers; High grade glioma; Multidisciplinary team; Online survey; Patients; Supportive care.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

Figures

**Fig. 1**
At sites where each service is available, proportion of HGG patients referred to supportive care services which address needs in the physical, psychological and social domains

See this image and copyright information in PMC

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Supportive care of patients diagnosed with high grade glioma and their carers in Australia

Affiliations

Supportive care of patients diagnosed with high grade glioma and their carers in Australia

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

Figures

References

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Medical