Poster Presentation 2025 Joint Meeting of the COSA ASM and IPOS Congress

“The telehealth means I get distance from the hospital so I don’t feel so much like a patient”: A qualitative sub-study examining the acceptability of nurse-led follow-up for ovarian cancer via telehealth using the MOST-S26 to structure consultations.    (126379)

Rachel Campbell 1 , Megan Jeon 1 , Michael Friedlander 2 , Madeleine T King 3 , Andreas Obermair 4 , Rhonda Beach 5 , Sanela Bilic 6 , Alison Brand 7 , Phyllis Butow 1 , Jim Codde 8 , Cyril Dixon 9 , Val Gebski 10 , Jeffrey Goh 11 , Sue Hegarty 9 , Jane Hill 9 , Angela Ives 12 , Stephanie Jeffares 13 , Wanda Lawson 5 , Orla McNally 14 , Anne Mellon 15 , Tarek Meniawy 16 , Linda Mileshkin 17 , Rachael L Morton 10 , Penelope M Webb 18 , Patsy Yates 19 , Paul A Cohen 20
  1. Psycho-oncology Co-operative Research Group (PoCoG), School of Psychology, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
  2. Medical Oncology, Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
  3. School of Psychology, Faculty of Science, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
  4. Gynaecological Cancer Research, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
  5. Australia and New Zealand Gynaecological Oncology Group, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
  6. St John of God Subiaco Hospital, Subiaco, Western Australia, Australia
  7. Department of Gynaecological Oncology, Westmead Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
  8. Institute for Health Research, The University of Notre Dame Australia, Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia
  9. Ovarian Cancer Australia, Melbourne , Victoria, Australia
  10. NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
  11. Department of Oncology, Royal Brisbane & Women’s Hospital, Herston, Queensland, Australia
  12. Medical School, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
  13. Department of Gynaecological Oncology, St John of God Subiaco Hospital, Subiaco, Western Australia, Australia
  14. Oncology and Dysplasia Unit, The Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  15. Hunter New England Centre for Gynaecological Cancer, John Hunter Hospital, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
  16. Department of Medical Oncology, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Nedlands, Western Australia, Australia
  17. Department of Medical Oncology, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  18. Population Health Department, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
  19. Faculty of Health, Centre for Healthcare Transformation, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
  20. Department of Gynecological Oncology, King Edward Memorial Hospital, Perth, Australia

Background: Many patients report receiving inadequate support for their physical and psychological symptoms during follow-up after first-line treatment for ovarian cancer (OC). MOST-S26 is a patient-reported outcome measure designed to assess physical and psychological symptoms after primary treatment for OC. The MOST follow-up trial (ACTRN12620000332921) evaluated the feasibility of nurse-led follow-up for OC via telehealth using MOST-S26 to structure consultations compared to conventional clinic-based follow-up. This qualitative trial sub-study examined the acceptability of this form of follow-up from patient and nurse perspectives.

Methods: Semi-structured interviews with patients and nurses via video teleconference or telephone. Eligible patients had participated in ≥two nurse-led follow-up appointments. Study nurses who delivered the intervention were interviewed at trial end. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed using a Framework Approach.

Results: 14 patients with OC and 6 study nurses were interviewed. Three overarching themes were identified: (1) key patient-centred benefits (incl. convenience and flexibility; providing a sense of connection and feeling cared for; enabling personalised, holistic care and prompt symptom management; providing space to express emotions); (2) challenges to delivery from nurses’ perspectives (incl. emotional impact on nurses when patients recur; lack of clear referral pathways; inability to observe physical cues; difficulties establishing rapport; and, suitability for all patients e.g. non-English speaking patients); and, (3) Nurse views on usefulness of MOST-S26 to support consultations (incl. MOST-S26 provides a useful tool to guide consultations and referrals, detect early signs of recurrence, track symptoms over time and flag symptoms for discussion).

Conclusions: Results confirmed the acceptability of this form of follow-up for OC from both patient and nurse perspectives. Both reported many benefits of nurse-led follow-up via telehealth using MOST-S26 to structure consultations, relative to standard hospital-based follow-up. However, nurses noted several challenges that need to be considered prior to routine implementation of this form of follow-up.