Patient Experiences of Care for Melanoma - MPOC Consumer Survey
Aim:
The Survey of Patients' Experiences of Care for Melanoma is sub-study 2 of a much larger Melanoma Patterns of Care (MPOC) study. While the larger study will provide detail about clinical aspects of care and agreement with clinical practice guidelines for the management of melanoma, this consumer survey evaluates the delivery of care from the perspective of those on the receiving end of services.
The aim of this study was to assess patients' experiences of and satisfaction with the services and care they received for their recently diagnosed melanoma in order to assess quality of services and areas for improvement. Of particular interest are:
- The most common pathway for patients through the health system
- Satisfaction as rated by patients throughout their care
- Experiences and suggestions for improvement as reported by patients
Methods:
Patients were identified through the NSW Central Cancer Registry (CCR) notifications. Recruitment began on the 19 August 2010 and continued until 07 February 2011. Our inclusion criteria were patients diagnosed within five months of the recruitment start date with the aim of interviewing patients within 9 months of their first recorded case of cutaneous melanoma. Patients were aged 18-75 years at diagnosis, with sufficient skill in English to complete a one hour interview.
Status:
Interviews from 100 patients have been summarised in a preliminary report. Findings presented in this account depict the journey from discovery of a potential melanoma to the confirmation of a diagnosis. Further findings about patients' subsequent experiences of treatment, follow up and the coordination of their care, will be available in the near future.
The detection and diagnosis report will be available here shortly.
