Stanciu, MA, Law, R-J, Nafees, S et al. (21 more authors) (2018) Development of an intervention to expedite cancer diagnosis through primary care: a protocol. BJGP Open, 2 (3). bjgpopen18. ISSN 2398-3795
Abstract
Background: GPs can play an important role in achieving earlier cancer diagnosis to improve patient outcomes, for example through prompt use of the urgent suspected cancer referral pathway. Barriers to early diagnosis include individual practitioner variation in knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, professional expectations, and norms. Aim: This programme of work (Wales Interventions and Cancer Knowledge about Early Diagnosis [WICKED]) will develop a behaviour change intervention to expedite diagnosis through primary care and contribute to improved cancer outcomes. Design & setting: Non-experimental mixed-method study with GPs and primary care practice teams from Wales. Method: Four work packages will inform the development of the behaviour change intervention. Work package 1 will identify relevant evidence-based interventions (systematic review of reviews) and will determine why interventions do or do not work, for whom, and in what circumstances (realist review). Work package 2 will assess cancer knowledge, attitudes, and behaviour of GPs, as well as primary care teams' perspectives on cancer referral and investigation (GP survey, discrete choice experiment [DCE], interviews, and focus groups). Work package 3 will synthesise findings from earlier work packages using the behaviour change wheel as an overarching theoretical framework to guide intervention development. Work package 4 will test the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention, and determine methods for measuring costs and effects of subsequent behaviour change in a randomised feasibility trial. Results: The findings will inform the design of a future effectiveness trial, with concurrent economic evaluation, aimed at earlier diagnosis. Conclusion: This comprehensive, evidence-based programme will develop a complex GP behaviour change intervention to expedite the diagnosis of symptomatic cancer, and may be applicable to countries with similar healthcare systems.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © The Authors, 2018. This is an Open Access article published under a Creative Commons licence. |
Keywords: | primary care; general practitioners; early cancer diagnosis; hospital referral; realist; synthesis; discrete choice; experiment; survey; qualitative |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Medicine and Health (Leeds) > School of Medicine (Leeds) > Leeds Institute of Health Sciences (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 22 Jan 2019 15:05 |
Last Modified: | 22 Jan 2019 15:08 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Royal College of General Practitioners |
Identification Number: | 10.3399/bjgpopen18X101595 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:141313 |