An exploration of women's experience of holistic needs assessment
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The experience of using a holistic needs assessment tool and the impact it has on the lived experience of breast cancer: An exploration
IRAS ID
198709
Contact name
Nichola J Snuggs
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 5 months, 11 days
Research summary
There is much literature discussing the significant levels of distress some women experience following a breast cancer diagnosis. Despite this, clinicians have not proven adept at diagnosing distress and there remains little in the way of formal assessment and follow-up within the patient pathway. Untreated distress, alongside the debilitating effects of treatment may well mean that the patient is unable to cope with their normal levels of activity, work and relationships during and on completion of treatment. It may jeopardise the outcomes of cancer treatment, decrease patients’ quality of life and increase ongoing health care costs.
Concentrating only on the physical aspects of the disease and treatment is no longer sufficient. Holistic assessment, looking at the whole person, is required in order to individualise not only treatment but also supportive interventions. The Department of Health, alongside Macmillan and the National Cancer Survivorship Initiative, advocate the use of a formal assessment tool at set points in a patients' treatment pathway. The London Holistic Needs Assessment tool (Attached 1) is one such tool. It has been validated as providing accurate information, useful for clinicians and acceptable to patients. There is little or no qualitative evidence regarding the patients experience of using it or the impact it may have for them. This qualitative study seeks to explore what impact holistic assessment, using this tool, has on the patients lived experience of breast cancer.
In keeping with qualitative research aiming to gain new knowledge the methodology will be one-to-one in depth interviews of a few patients purposely selected because they have completed the assessment on at least 2 occasions in their treatment pathway.
Eligible patients will be women diagnosed with early breast cancer at the student researchers site of work who have recently completed treatment delivered with curative intent.REC name
East Midlands - Leicester Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/EM/0145
Date of REC Opinion
8 Apr 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion