Research project: Development, implementation and evaluation of the True NTH Supported Self Management and Follow Up Care Programme
Currently Active:
Yes
Prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer amongst men in the UK, with over 40,000 new cases diagnosed each year. Survival rates for prostate cancer are high. Men who have completed treatment for prostate cancer will typically attend regular, face-to-face reviews in the hospital clinic for up to 10 years. There is a need for alternative models of follow- up care: prostate cancer services are under increasing pressure due to numbers of men and a shortage of specialist nursing staff, and men report high levels of continuing unmet need in relation to their prostate cancer.
Project Overview
We have designed and tested a new model of follow up care based on the principles of supported self-management and remote monitoring. Men who are identified as suitable for the Programme no longer return to the hospital for traditional clinic based follow-up appointments. Instead, they have access to:
A cancer support worker who acts as their key worker throughout their follow up care
A patient online service that allows them to check test results, complete health assessments and communicate with their clinical team
A supported self-management workshop, and other educational resources to help them develop the knowledge, skills and confidence to self-manage their condition
Men on the Programme continue to be monitored closely by their clinical team, and are recalled to clinic if test results or assessments prompt further investigation.
The Programme was implemented in five NHS Trusts in England between 2015 and 2018, and tested with over 3500 patients. It has now been adopted as part of routine care. The project team have developed a Toolkit to support healthcare providers to introduce this Programme[HB2] .
To determine the effectiveness of the programme, we evaluated the model in four NHS Trusts. The evaluation:
compared key outcomes (unmet needs, quality of life, anxiety and depression, skills for self management, healthy behaviours, health service use and satisfaction with follow up care) for men in the Programme with men who received clinic based follow up care
compared costs of the Programme with clinic based follow up care
compared health care professionals’ and patients’ experiences of clinic based follow up care and the Programme, documented processes which promoted or inhibited the Programme’s implementation
True NTH UK project team
Project staff
Professor Alison Richardson, Chief Investigator, University of Southampton & University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust;
Hazel Brodie, Project Manager, University of Southampton;
Dr Ines Mesa-Eguiagaray, Medical Statistician, University of Southampton;
Dr Jane Frankland, Senior Research Fellow, University of Southampton;
Dr Rebecca Foster, Research Fellow, University of Southampton;
Professor Claire Foster, University of Southampton
Dr Debbie Cooke, Senior Lecturer, University of Surrey;
Professor Heather Gage, Professor of Health Economics, University of Surrey;
Jake Jordan, Research Fellow in Health Economics, University of Surrey;
Dr Rose Lindsay, Research Fellow, University of Southampton
Dr Ruth Pickering, Medical Statistician, University of Southampton;
Miranda Benney, Project Nursing Advisor, Royal United Hospital Bath NHS Foundation Trust;
Mr Jon McFarlane, Project Medical Advisor, Royal United Hospital Bath NHS Foundation Trust.
Collaborating Trusts:
Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust;
Royal United Hospital Bath NHS Foundation Trust;
Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust;
St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust;
University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust.
Funder
True NTH UK - a partnership between The Movember Foundation and Prostate Cancer UK
