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A Delphi study to develop indicators of cancer patient experience for quality improvement

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to develop prioritised indicators to measure cancer patient experience and thus guide quality improvement in the delivery of patient care.

Methods

A Delphi study, consisting of two surveys and three workshops, was employed to gather expert opinions on the most important indicators to measure. Survey participants were 149 health professionals, academics/technical experts and consumers. The first survey was based on a literature review which identified 105 elements of care within 14 domains of patient experience. These were rated on a 7-point Likert scale, with ‘1’ representing high importance. Elements with mean ratings between 1.0 and 2.0 were retained for the second survey. The 43 least-important elements were omitted, four elements were revised and nine new elements added. Consensus was defined as at least 70% of participants rating an element ‘1’ or ‘2’. Multivariate and cluster analyses were used to develop 20 draft indicators, which were presented to 51 experts to refine and prioritise at the three workshops.

Results

All elements in the second survey were rated ‘1’ or ‘2’ by 81% of participants. Workshop participants agreed strongly on the four most important indicators: coordinated care, access to care, timeliness of the first treatment, and communication. Other indicators considered highly important were follow-up care for survivors; timeliness of diagnosis; information relating to side effects, pain and medication; comprehensibility of information provided to patients; and needs assessment.

Conclusions

Experts identified priorities with a high level of consensus, providing a rigorous foundation for developing prioritised indicators of quality in cancer patient experience.

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Acknowledgements

Funding for the current research was provided by the Cancer Institute of New South Wales. The authors wish to thank Nicole Cook and Margaret Barbouttis of the Cancer Institute NSW and the many experts who contributed their time to this study

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Health Service Development, Australian Health Services Research Institute (AHSRI), University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, 2522, Australia

    Kathryn E. Williams, Janet Sansoni, Darcy Morris & Cristina Thompson

Authors
  1. Kathryn E. Williams
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  2. Janet Sansoni
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  3. Darcy Morris
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  4. Cristina Thompson
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Correspondence to Kathryn E. Williams.

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The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Williams, K.E., Sansoni, J., Morris, D. et al. A Delphi study to develop indicators of cancer patient experience for quality improvement. Support Care Cancer 26, 129–138 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-017-3823-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-017-3823-4

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