Assessing the Efficacy of a 28-Day Comprehensive Online Prostate Cancer Patient Empowerment Program (PC-PEP) in Facilitating Engagement of Prostate Cancer Patients in Their Survivorship Care: A Qualitative Study
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Published:2023-09-21
Issue:9
Volume:30
Page:8633-8652
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ISSN:1718-7729
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Container-title:Current Oncology
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language:en
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Short-container-title:Current Oncology
Author:
Ilie Gabriela123ORCID, MacDonald Cody1ORCID, Richman Hal1, Rendon Ricardo2, Mason Ross2, Nuyens Alexandra1, Bailly Greg2, Bell David2, Patil Nikhilesh3, Bowes David3ORCID, Champion Emmi4, Wilke Derek3, Massoeurs Lia1, Hassan Nada1, Rutledge Robert David Harold3
Affiliation:
1. Department of Community Health and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada 2. Department of Urology, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada 3. Department of Radiation Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada 4. IWK Health Centre, Halifax, NS B3K 6R8, Canada
Abstract
A 28-day Prostate Cancer-Patient Empowerment Program (PC-PEP) developed through patient engagement was successful at promoting mental and physical health. Thirty prostate cancer patients from Halifax, Canada participated in the 28-day PC-PEP intervention in early 2019. PC-PEP encompassed daily patient education and empowerment videos, prescribed physical activities (including pelvic floor exercises), a mostly plant-based diet, stress reduction techniques, intimacy education, social connection, and support. Quantitative exit surveys and semi-structured interviews (conducted in focus groups of ten) were used to assess perceived factors that facilitated or impeded adherence to the program. The program received high praise from the patients and was deemed extremely useful by the participating men, who rated it 9 out of 10. Patients expressed that the multifaceted, online, home-based nature of the program helped them adhere to it better than they would have had to a single or less comprehensive intervention. Feedback from the participants indicated that the program, when viewed as a whole, was perceived as greater than the sum of its individual parts. Furthermore, the program addressed various issues, including emotional vulnerability and distress, physical fitness, urinary incontinence, challenges in expressing emotions, perceived lack of control over healthcare decisions, emotional fragility, and hesitancy to discuss prostate cancer-related matters in social settings. Patients highly (9.6/10) endorsed integrating the program into the standard care regimen from the very beginning of diagnosis. However, challenges such as work commitments were noted. Patients’ high endorsement of PC-PEP suggests that its implementation into the standard of care from day one of diagnosis may be warranted.
Funder
Dalhousie Medical Research Foundation Research Nova Scotia
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