Incorporating patient reflections to improve cancer diagnosis
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Incorporating patient reflections into learning for quality improvement in cancer diagnosis in primary care
IRAS ID
342563
Contact name
Una Macleod
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Hull
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 7 months, 14 days
Research summary
Significant Event Audit (SEA) (sometimes also referred to as a ‘Learning Event Analysis’ (LEA)) is a method that clinical teams use to try and improve the quality of care that they provide to their patients. It can be used to reflect on any area of a patients care, whether that be positive or negative.
SEA is often used within primary care to reflect on cancer diagnosis, particularly if there have been issues surrounding the diagnosis. For example, diagnostic delay, or if the patient was diagnosed via an emergency pathway, such as attending A&E, which then results in a cancer diagnosis.
Significant event audit (SEA) is a valuable learning tool, but currently it only provides information that hinges on the clinical perspective. Our study is about giving patients and families a voice within this process. To help us achieve this, we have co-designed a template with members of the public who have personal experience of cancer diagnosis. We will then pilot this template in a GP practice, the results of which will then feed into a larger feasibility study. This template will enable patients and their families to reflect on their pathway to cancer diagnosis. The information we capture will then feed into the significant event audit process, to help ensure that the experiences of patients and families are considered alongside clinical perspectives.
Therefore, the primary aim of this study is to develop a template specifically designed to allow patients and their families to reflect on their pathway to cancer diagnosis, and to evaluate how adding the patient reflections can facilitate quality improvement in primary care practice.REC name
East Midlands - Nottingham 2 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
24/EM/0160
Date of REC Opinion
1 Oct 2024
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion