Rapid Fire Best of the Best Poster Oral Clinical Oncology Society of Australia Annual Scientific Meeting 2021

Nurse-led telephone notification of a prostate cancer diagnosis: Prospective analysis of men's preferences for and experiences from a same-day assessment and diagnostic clinic (#331)

Cynthia Hawks 1 2 3 , Pravin Viswambaram 1 2 3 , Claire Cloney 2 , Erica Botha 2 , Matthew Brown 2 3 , Suzanne Chambers 3 4 , Catherine Paterson 3 5 , Dickon Hayne 1 2 3
  1. Medical School, Surgery, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Western Australia, Australia
  2. Urology Department, Fiona Stanley Hospital, Murdoch, Western Australia, Australia
  3. Australian and New Zealand Urogenital and Prostate (ANZUP) Cancer Trials Group, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia
  4. Faculty of Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
  5. Faculty of Health, Canberra University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia

Aims: The ‘One Stop Prostate Clinic’ (OSPC) was a same day prostate cancer assessment and diagnostic clinic at a public tertiary hospital in Australia. The preferences and experiences of men who received initial telephone notification of their prostate biopsy results (cancer or benign) by the OSPC Clinical Nurse (CN) are reported.

Methods: Prospective mixed method study using survey instrument and thematic analysis of the preferences and experiences of men attending the OSPC.

Results: 1,000 men attended the OSPC between August 2011 and November 2017, 876 underwent prostate biopsies. 791/876 (90%) men verbally consented to receive telephone notification of biopsy results by the OSPC CN, 6/876 (1%) declined and 79/876 (9%) were ineligible/not contacted. Between December 2015 and October 2018, 220/403 men (55%) returned the survey instrument (OSPC questionnaire). 135/220 (61%) men received a cancer diagnosis, 85/220 (39%) had benign pathology. Of those men with a cancer diagnosis, 119/132 (90%) would choose this method again, 7/132 (5.5%) would not and 6/132 (4.5%) were unsure. 94/135 (70%) reported no disadvantages with this notification method. Overall satisfaction rate with the OSPC was 96% (209/218) men. Thematic analysis of most common written comments - 51 positive comments related to professional conduct and 10 negative comments related to communication issues.

Conclusion: Nurse led initial telephone notification of prostate biopsy results by the OSPC CN was preferred by the vast majority of eligible men. Many men with a cancer diagnosis did not experience any disadvantages and even with the benefit of hindsight, would choose this method again. This approach could easily be incorporated into routine clinical practice by other tumour groups.  

  1. Hawks, C; Viswambaram, P; Cloney, C; Botha, E; Brown, M; Chambers, S; Paterson, C & Hayne, D. Nurse-led telephone notification of a prostate cancer diagnosis: Prospective analysis of men’s preferences for and experiences of a same-day assessment and diagnostic clinic. European Journal of Cancer Care. Accepted for online publication 8 July 2021. DOI 10.1111/ecc.13493.