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. 2023 May;64(2):177-193.
doi: 10.1111/ajd.14023. Epub 2023 Mar 24.

Measuring the quality of skin cancer management in primary care: A scoping review

Samantha Spanos  1 , Nehal Singh  1 , Bela I Laginha  1 , Gaston Arnolda  1 , David Wilkinson  1   2 , Andrea L Smith  3 , Anne E Cust  3   4 , Jeffrey Braithwaite  1 , Frances Rapport  1
Affiliations

Measuring the quality of skin cancer management in primary care: A scoping review

Samantha Spanos et al. Australas J Dermatol. 2023 May.

Abstract

Skin cancer is a growing global problem and a significant health and economic burden. Despite the practical necessity for skin cancer to be managed in primary care settings, little is known about how quality of care is or should be measured in this setting. This scoping review aimed to capture the breadth and range of contemporary evidence related to the measurement of quality in skin cancer management in primary care settings. Six databases were searched for relevant texts reporting on quality measurement in primary care skin cancer management. Data from 46 texts published since 2011 were extracted, and quality measures were catalogued according to the three domains of the Donabedian model of healthcare quality (structure, process and outcome). Quality measures within each domain were inductively analysed into 13 key emergent groups. These represented what were deemed to be the most relevant components of skin cancer management as related to structure, process or outcomes measurement. Four groups related to the structural elements of care provision (e.g. diagnostic tools and equipment), five related to the process of care delivery (e.g. diagnostic processes) and four related to the outcomes of care (e.g. poor treatment outcomes). A broad range of quality measures have been documented, based predominantly on articles using retrospective cohort designs; systematic reviews and randomised controlled trials were limited.

Keywords: general practitioners; primary care; quality; quality in healthcare; quality measurement; skin cancer; skin cancer management; variation.

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Conflict of interest statement

DW is a member of the National Skin Cancer Centres board of directors.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
PRISMA flowchart displaying the process of identification and selection of included articles.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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