Kinta Beaver

Following a diagnosis of prostate cancer, men require information and support from healthcare providers which is tailored to their individual needs. Studies reporting on the needs of gay men with prostate cancer, and their experiences of healthcare provision, are lacking. This study highlights the issues affecting this group of men and the implications for healthcare delivery in the United Kingdom. In‐depth interviews were conducted with 12 gay men who had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. A phenomenological approach was used to collect and analyse data. Participants wanted, and expected, candid discussions with healthcare professionals, about how prostate cancer could affect their lives, sexual function, and how to access culturally relevant support before and after treatment. Participants perceived that their healthcare team had little knowledge about their needs, and if, or how, their experience differed due to their sexual orientation. Information provided was perceived as being misplaced or informed by heteronormative assumptions. Consideration should be given to requesting sexual orientation when recording patient information, if patients are willing to disclose. Training should be provided for healthcare professionals to enable them to provide information and support that is culturally relevant at all stages of the consultation.

Objectives The aim of this review was to identify the cultural, social, structural and behavioural factors that influence asymptomatic breast and cervical cancer screening attendance in South Asian populations, in order to improve uptake and propose priorities for further research. Design A systematic review of the literature for inductive, comparative, prospective and intervention studies. We searched the following databases: MEDLINE/In-Process, Web of Science, EMBASE, SCOPUS, CENTRAL, CDSR, CINAHL, PsycINFO and PsycARTICLES from database inception to 23 January 2018. The review included studies on the cultural, social, structural and behavioural factors that influence asymptomatic breast and cervical cancer screening attendance and cervical smear testing (Papanicolaou test) in South Asian populations and those published in the English language. The framework analysis method was used and themes were drawn out following the thematic analysis method. Settings Asymptomatic breast or cervical screening. Participants South Asian women, including Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Bhutanese, Maldivian and Nepali populations. Results 51 included studies were published between 1991 and 2018. Sample sizes ranged from 25 to 38 733 and participants had a mean age of 18 to 83 years. Our review showed that South Asian women generally had lower screening rates than host country women. South Asian women had poorer knowledge of cancer and cancer prevention and experienced more barriers to screening. Cultural practices and assumptions influenced understandings of cancer and prevention, emphasising the importance of host country cultures and healthcare systems. Conclusions High-quality research on screening attendance is required using prospective designs, where objectively validated attendance is predicted from cultural understandings, beliefs, norms and practices, thus informing policy on targeting relevant public health messages to the South Asian communities about screening for cancer. PROSPERO registration number CSD 42015025284.

Regular outpatient follow-up programmes are usually offered to patients following treatment for gynaecological and other cancers. Despite the substantial resources involved in providing these programmes, there is evidence that routine follow-up programmes do not affect survival or the likelihood of detecting recurrence and may not meet patient needs. Alternative follow-up modalities may offer the same outcomes at lower cost. We examined the costs of using telephone-based routine follow-up of women treated for endometrial cancer undertaken by specialist gynaecology oncology nurses in comparison to routine hospital-based follow-up.

Objective: To conduct a systematic review of the effectiveness of consultation recordings and identify factors contributing to their successful implementation in health‐care settings.Methods: A systematic review was conducted for quantitative studies examining the effectiveness of consultation recordings in health care. Two independent reviewers assessed the relevance and quality of retrieved quantitative studies by using standardized criteria. Study findings were examined to determine consultation recording effectiveness and to identify barriers and facilitators to implementation. A supplementary review of qualitative evidence was performed to further explicate implementation factors.Results: Of the 3373 articles retrieved in the quantitative search, 26 satisfied the standardized inclusion criteria (12 randomized controlled trials, 1 quasi‐experiment, and 13 cross‐sectional studies). Most patients found consultation recordings beneficial. Statistically significant evidentiary support was found for the beneficial impact of consultation recordings on the following patient reported outcomes: knowledge, perception of being informed, information recall, decision‐making factors, anxiety, and depression. Implementation barriers included strength of evidence concerns, patient distress, impact of the recording on consultation quality, clinic procedures, medico‐legal issues, and resource costs. Facilitators included comfort with being recorded, clinical champions, legal strategies, efficient recording procedures, and a positive consultation recording experience.Conclusions: Consultation recordings are valuable to patients and positively associated with patient‐reported outcomes. Successful integration of consultation recording use into clinical practice requires an administratively supported, systematic approach to addressing implementation factors.