gms | German Medical Science

Background and Purpose: Although the relevance of goal setting and shared decision making in aftercare for cancer survivors is acknowledged, nurses do not always know how to implement them in practice.

We aimed to develop and pretest a systematic conversation approach for nurses to tailor aftercare to oncology patient’s needs and goals.

Research Focus: We used an iterative developmental process:

1.

Identifying problems

2.

Identifying overall objectives

3.

Designing the intervention

4.

Pretesting and adapting the intervention.

Methodological and Theoretical Focus: The developmental process is based on a user-centred approach for the development of complex interventions for nursing.

Results: The main results of the problem identification were: non-systematic and incomplete screening of potential issues, caveats in providing information, and involving patients in decision making. The overall objective formulated was: To develop a model for aftercare conversations based on shared goal setting and shared decision making.

The conversation approach consists of four phases:

1.

Preparation of the consultation including a questionnaire

2.

Shared goal-setting by means of a tool visualising domains of life

3.

Shared care planning by means of an overview of possible choices in aftercare, a database with health care professionals and a cancer survivorship care plan

4.

Evaluation

The pretest revealed that the conversation approach needs to be flexible, tailored, and embedded in care processes. The conversation approach was perceived as leading to a more in-depth consultation.

Conclusions: The conversation approach was developed in co-creation with stakeholders. The results of the pretest revealed implications for implementation.

Disclosure of Interest: All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Funding Information: This study was funded by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) doctoral grant for teachers nr. 023.002.031.