Risk Messages about HPV, Cervical Cancer and the HPV Vaccine Gardasil: A Content Analysis of U.S. and Canadian National Newspaper and News Magazine Articles

The HPV vaccine (Gardasil) is a significant advancement in women’s health that garnered both positive and negative media coverage. Since public opinion and population uptake of the vaccine can be influenced by media coverage, the purpose of this study was to assess the discussion and presentation of risk information about HPV, cervical cancer and the HPV vaccine in Canadian and U.S. newspapers and news magazines. Using directed content analysis, the reporting of fear-inducing messages about HPV, cervical cancer and the HPV vaccine were compared between Canadian and U.S. top-circulating national newspapers between January 2006—December 2007. Significant differences between countries were found in the number of fear messages about cervical cancer (p < 0.05) but not for HPV or the HPV vaccine. Readability was higher than recommended for the public and emotional tone of the articles was progressively negative. Directed content analysis was also used to assess the discussion of risks, fear-inducing messages about HPV, cervical cancer and the HPV vaccine in four high circulating North American news magazines from January 2006—December 2007. Risk messages about HPV and cervical cancer focused on threatening illness or injury and reporting on the HPV vaccine emphasized it being poorly understood by science. Newspaper and news magazine articles on HPV, cervical cancer and the HPV vaccine included fear-inducing messages. Public health officials and health educators need to be aware of media reporting of fear based risk messages in order to alleviate public anxiety and concern about the HPV vaccine

The sociology of cancer: a decade of research

Biomedicine is often presented as the driving force behind improvements in cancer care, with genomics the latest innovation poised to change the meaning, diagnosis, treatment, prevention and lived experience of cancer. Reviewing sociological analyses of a diversity of patient and practitioner experiences and accounts of cancer during the last decade (2007–17), we explore the experiences of, approaches to and understandings of cancer in this period. We identify three key areas of focus: (i) cancer patient experiences and identities; (ii) cancer risk and responsibilities and (iii) bioclinical collectives. We explore these sociological studies of societal and biomedical developments and how sociologists have sought to influence developments in cancer identities, care and research. We end by suggesting that we extend our understanding of innovations in the fields of cancer research to take better account of these wider social and cultural innovations, together with patients, activists' and sociologists' contributions therein

Empowering patients and caregivers with knowledge: The development of a nurse-led gynecologic oncology chemotherapy education class

At a Canadian cancer centre, rising patient volumes made it difficult to provide quality chemotherapy education to patients and families in the clinical setting. The gynecology oncology site identified several barriers to the provision of timely and comprehensive teaching. These barriers included receiving education after learning of a cancer diagnosis, the efficacy of written information, time constraints nurses experienced, and absence of standardized side effect management. This prompted an interdisciplinary team to review current teaching practices and engage the Patient Education Program to collaboratively develop strategies to overcome these challenges. This paper describes the development of a nurse-led chemotherapy education class tailored to patients with gynecologic cancers and focused on common chemotherapy treatment protocols. The purpose of the class was to help patients and caregivers know what to expect during their chemotherapy routine, lower anxiety, and to equip them with knowledge and skills to manage side effects of treatment

Autonomiser les patients et les soignants grâce au savoir : Élaboration d’une formation sur la chimiothérapie en gynécologie oncologique dirigée par le personnel infirmier

L’augmentation du nombre de patients vus en clinique dans un centre de cancérologie du Canada est venue nuire à l’offre d’un enseignement de qualité sur la chimiothérapie pour les patients et leur famille. Le département de gynéco-oncologie a cerné plusieurs obstacles à la transmission d’un enseignement complet et opportun. Une fois le diagnostic de cancer tombé, l’accès à l’enseignement, l’efficacité de l’information transmise par écrit, les contraintes de temps des infirmières et l’absence d’uniformité dans la prise en charge des effets secondaires figurent parmi les obstacles relevés. Une équipe interdisciplinaire s’est donc rassemblée pour revoir les pratiques d’enseignement actuelles et se pencher sur le programme d’enseignement aux patients afin de développer, conjointement, des stratégies pour régler ces problèmes. Cet article décrit les étapes ayant mené à l’élaboration, par le personnel infirmier, d’une formation sur la chimiothérapie (protocoles courants) destinée aux patients atteints de cancers gynécologiques et visant à aider les patients et les soignants à mieux se préparer aux séances de chimiothérapie, à calmer l’anxiété et à savoir comment gérer les effets secondaires liés au traitement

Implementation of a Comprehensive Smoking Cessation Program in Cancer Care

Background: Quitting smoking after a cancer diagnosis maximizes treatment-related effects, improves prognosis, and enhances quality of life. However, smoking cessation (SC) services are not routinely integrated into cancer care. The Princess Margaret Cancer Centre implemented a digitally-based sc program in oncology, leveraging an e-referral system (CEASE) to screen all new ambulatory patients, provide tailored education and advice on quitting, and facilitate referrals. Methods: We adopted the Framework for Managing eHealth Change to guide implementation of the sc program by integrating 6 key elements: governance and leadership, stakeholder engagement, communication, workflow analysis and integration, monitoring and evaluation, and training and education. Results: Incorporating elements of the Framework, we used extensive stakeholder engagement and strategic partnerships to establish a sc program with organizational and provincial accountability. Existing electronic patient-reported assessments were changed to integrate cease. Clinic audits and staff engagement allowed for analysis of workflow, ongoing monitoring and evaluation that aided in establishing a communication strategy, and development of cancer-specific education for patients and health care providers. From April 2016 to March 2018, 22,137 new patients were eligible for screening. Among those new patients, 13,617 (62%) were screened, with 1382 (10%) being current smokers and 532 (4%) having recently quit (within 6 months). Of the current smokers and those who had recently quit, all were advised to quit or to stay smoke-free, and 380 (20%) accepted referral to a sc counselling service. Conclusions: Here, we provide a comprehensive practice blueprint for the implementation of digitally based sc programs as a standard of care within comprehensive cancer centres with high patient volumes

Virtual Care and Electronic Patient Communication During COVID-19: Cross-sectional Study of Inequities Across a Canadian Tertiary Cancer Center

BackgroundVirtual care (VC) visits (telephone or video) and email-based patient communication have been rapidly adopted to facilitate cancer care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Inequities in access and patient experience may arise as these digital health tools become prevalent. ObjectiveWe aimed to characterize inequities in access and patient-reported experience following adoption of digital health tools at a tertiary cancer center during the COVID-19 pandemic. MethodsWe designed a cross-sectional study of outpatients with visits from September to December 2020. Patient characteristics and responses to an email-based patient-experience survey were collated. Inequities in access were assessed across three pairs of comparison groups: (1) patients with VC and in-person visits, (2) patients with and without documented email addresses, and (3) responders and nonresponders to the survey. Inequities in patient-reported experience were assessed among survey responders. Demographics were mapped to area-level averages from national census data. Socioeconomic status was mapped to area-level dimensions of the Canadian Index of Multiple Deprivation. Covariate balance between comparison groups was assessed using standardized mean differences (SMDs), with SMD≥0.2 indicating differences between groups. Associations between patient experience satisfaction scores and covariates were assessed using multivariable analyses, with P<.05 indicating statistical significance. ResultsAmong the 42,194 patients who had outpatient visits, 62.65% (n=26,435) had at least one VC visit and 31.15% (n=13,144) were emailable. Access to VC and email was similar across demographic and socioeconomic indices (SMD.05). Regardless of visit type, patients had variable satisfaction with care domains across demographic and socioeconomic indices. Patients with higher ethnocultural composition scores were less satisfied with the cultural appropriateness of their care (odds ratio [OR] 0.70, 95% CI 0.57-0.86). Patients with higher situational vulnerability scores were less satisfied with discussion of physical symptoms (OR 0.67, 95% CI 0.48-0.93). Patients with higher residential instability scores were less satisfied with discussion of both physical (OR 0.81, 95% CI 0.68-0.97) and emotional (OR 0.86, 95% CI 0.77-0.96) symptoms, and also with the duration of their visit (OR 0.85, 95% CI 0.74-0.98; P=.02). Male patients were more satisfied with how their health care provider had listened to them (OR 1.64, 95% CI 1.11-2.44; P=.01). ConclusionsAdoption of VC and email can equitably maintain access and patient-reported experience in cancer care across demographics and socioeconomic indices. Existing health inequities among structurally marginalized patients must continue to be addressed to improve their care experience