The Primary Care Collaborative Cancer Clinical Trials Group (PC4) supports the development of cancer in primary care research across the cancer continuum. To underpin our 2021-2024 strategic plan, we undertook a research prioritisation exercise to determine the most important areas for new cancer research in primary care in Australia.
We used an adapted nominal group technique and the Cancer Care Continuum as a framework for mapping priorities. A literature scan of Medline, Embase, Emcare & PsycInfo for English-language papers describing cancer research priorities which involved primary care in some capacity in English between January 2010 and February 2020 was conducted. Followed by a stakeholder survey. The priorities identified were reviewed and consolidated to the top 10 in each area of the continuum by PC4’s expert groups. The refined priorities were shared via a second survey where stakeholders were asked to allocate up to AUD$100 of research funding between priorities.
We identified 311 priorities, 218 priorities from existing literature and 93 through the first stakeholder survey. Nearly a third of priorities were about cancer survivorship; double that of any other area of the continuum. Priorities which spanned primary and secondary care included improving communication between healthcare settings. A cross-cutting theme was the need to move beyond just identifying effective interventions but ensuring their implementation. Lastly, across all areas of the continuum the need for targeted research to improve outcomes for groups with poorer outcomes was prominent. Overall, we identified the top 10 priorities in cancer prevention, early detection, survivorship, palliative care, and cross-cutting research.
This is the first cancer in primary care research prioritisation exercise conducted in the Australian context. These priorities provide a foundation for the development of new multidisciplinary clinical trials in areas of importance to a broad range of stakeholders invested in primary care and cancer care.