Co-developing journey maps with older adult patients with cancer to contextualize and incorporate patient- reported data into practice

Abstract

Abstract Purpose Supporting clinicians in contextualizing PROM data to better understand patients’ health stories could lead to improved person-centred cancer care. Integrating PROMs into journey maps is one way to assist clinicians in making sense of PROMs data. This project co-developed PROM-informed journey maps in partnership with older adults who have cancer and received radiation therapy as a knowledge translation strategy to support clinicians in effectively using PROMs in their practice. Methods Six older adults who received radiation therapy as part of their cancer treatment participated in individual semi-structured interviews to co-develop journey maps. Participants were asked about their health care experiences and well-being with a focus on their feelings, tasks, and influences during four phases of their cancer journey: pre-diagnosis, diagnosis, treatment, and post-treatment. Reflecting on their experiences, participants completed the well-being item from the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System revised (ESAS-r) questionnaire for each phase. This information was used in the context of journey maps to understand how and why participants’ well-being scores changed. Results Across the six journey maps, several opportunities to discuss and address older adult cancer patients’ well-being were identified from the PROM data. This included providing education on early detection and preventing recurrence of cancer, as well as having conversations throughout the cancer journey to address patients’ well-being and mental health needs over time. Conclusion As a knowledge translation tool, journey maps have the potential to support clinicians in using PROMs data to contextualize patient experiences and better understand their health stories and changing needs during their cancer care trajectory.