The economic impact of cancer diagnosis to individuals and their families: a systematic review.
The effect of a cancer diagnosis is wide-ranging with the potential to affect income, employment and risk of poverty. The aim of this systematic review is to identify the economic impact of a cancer diagnosis for patients and their families/caregivers.
The search covered peer-reviewed journals using MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, Epistemonikos and PsycINFO databases. Quality appraisal was undertaken using CASP tools. Monetary values were converted to US Dollars/2019 using a purchasing power parities (PPP) conversion factor. The review included articles up to and including January 2020, written in English language, for patients with cancer aged ≥ 18 years and focused on the costs up to 5 years following a cancer diagnosis.
The search was run in January 2020 and updated in November 2021. Of the 7973 articles identified, 18 met the inclusion criteria. Studies were undertaken in the USA, Ireland, Canada, Australia, France, UK, Malaysia, Pakistan, China and Sri Lanka. The majority were cohort studies. Twelve reported out-of-pocket costs (range US$16-US$2523/month per patient/caregiver) consisting of medical expenses (e.g. surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy) and non-medical expenses (e.g. travel, food and childcare). Fourteen studies reported patient/caregiver loss of income and lost productivity (range 14-57.8%).
A high percentage of cancer patients and their families/caregivers experience out-of-pocket expenditure, loss of income and lost productivity. Future research is needed to observe the effects of continuing changes to healthcare policies and social protections on the economic burden among cancer patients and their families/caregivers.
Alzehr A
,Hulme C
,Spencer A
,Morgan-Trimmer S
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Beyond the black stump: rapid reviews of health research issues affecting regional, rural and remote Australia.
CHAPTER 1: RETAIL INITIATIVES TO IMPROVE THE HEALTHINESS OF FOOD ENVIRONMENTS IN RURAL, REGIONAL AND REMOTE COMMUNITIES: Objective: To synthesise the evidence for effectiveness of initiatives aimed at improving food retail environments and consumer dietary behaviour in rural, regional and remote populations in Australia and comparable countries, and to discuss the implications for future food environment initiatives for rural, regional and remote areas of Australia.
Rapid review of articles published between January 2000 and May 2020.
We searched MEDLINE (EBSCOhost), Health and Society Database (Informit) and Rural and Remote Health Database (Informit), and included studies undertaken in rural food environment settings in Australia and other countries.
Twenty-one articles met the inclusion criteria, including five conducted in Australia. Four of the Australian studies were conducted in very remote populations and in grocery stores, and one was conducted in regional Australia. All of the overseas studies were conducted in rural North America. All of them revealed a positive influence on food environment or consumer behaviour, and all were conducted in disadvantaged, rural communities. Positive outcomes were consistently revealed by studies of initiatives that focused on promotion and awareness of healthy foods and included co-design to generate community ownership and branding.
Initiatives aimed at improving rural food retail environments were effective and, when implemented in different rural settings, may encourage improvements in population diets. The paucity of studies over the past 20 years in Australia shows a need for more research into effective food retail environment initiatives, modelled on examples from overseas, with studies needed across all levels of remoteness in Australia. Several retail initiatives that were undertaken in rural North America could be replicated in rural Australia and could underpin future research. CHAPTER 2: WHICH INTERVENTIONS BEST SUPPORT THE HEALTH AND WELLBEING NEEDS OF RURAL POPULATIONS EXPERIENCING NATURAL DISASTERS?: Objective: To explore and evaluate health and social care interventions delivered to rural and remote communities experiencing natural disasters in Australia and other high income countries.
We used systematic rapid review methods. First we identified a test set of citations and generated a frequency table of Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) to index articles. Then we used combinations of MeSH terms and keywords to search the MEDLINE (Ovid) database, and screened the titles and abstracts of the retrieved references.
We identified 1438 articles via database searches, and a further 62 articles via hand searching of key journals and reference lists. We also found four relevant grey literature resources. After removing duplicates and undertaking two stages of screening, we included 28 studies in a synthesis of qualitative evidence.
Four of us read and assessed the full text articles. We then conducted a thematic analysis using the three phases of the natural disaster response cycle.
There is a lack of robust evaluation of programs and interventions supporting the health and wellbeing of people in rural communities affected by natural disasters. To address the cumulative and long term impacts, evidence suggests that continuous support of people's health and wellbeing is needed. By using a lens of rural adversity, the complexity of the lived experience of natural disasters by rural residents can be better understood and can inform development of new models of community-based and integrated care services. CHAPTER 3: THE IMPACT OF BUSHFIRE ON THE WELLBEING OF CHILDREN LIVING IN RURAL AND REMOTE AUSTRALIA: Objective: To investigate the impact of bushfire events on the wellbeing of children living in rural and remote Australia.
Literature review completed using rapid realist review methods, and taking into consideration the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) statement for systematic reviews.
We sourced data from six databases: EBSCOhost (Education), EBSCOhost (Health), EBSCOhost (Psychology), Informit, MEDLINE and PsycINFO. We developed search terms to identify articles that could address the research question based on the inclusion criteria of peer reviewed full text journal articles published in English between 1983 and 2020. We initially identified 60 studies and, following closer review, extracted data from eight studies that met the inclusion criteria.
Children exposed to bushfires may be at increased risk of poorer wellbeing outcomes. Findings suggest that the impact of bushfire exposure may not be apparent in the short term but may become more pronounced later in life. Children particularly at risk are those from more vulnerable backgrounds who may have compounding factors that limit their ability to overcome bushfire trauma.
We identified the short, medium and long term impacts of bushfire exposure on the wellbeing of children in Australia. We did not identify any evidence-based interventions for supporting outcomes for this population. Given the likely increase in bushfire events in Australia, research into effective interventions should be a priority. CHAPTER 4: THE ROLE OF NATIONAL POLICIES TO ADDRESS RURAL ALLIED HEALTH, NURSING AND DENTISTRY WORKFORCE MALDISTRIBUTION: Objective: Maldistribution of the health workforce between rural, remote and metropolitan communities contributes to longstanding health inequalities. Many developed countries have implemented policies to encourage health care professionals to work in rural and remote communities. This scoping review is an international synthesis of those policies, examining their effectiveness at recruiting and retaining nursing, dental and allied health professionals in rural communities.
Using scoping review methods, we included primary research - published between 1 September 2009 and 30 June 2020 - that reported an evaluation of existing policy initiatives to address workforce maldistribution in high income countries with a land mass greater than 100 000 km .
We searched MEDLINE, Ovid Embase, Ovid Emcare, Informit, Scopus, and Web of Science. We screened 5169 articles for inclusion by title and abstract, of which we included 297 for full text screening. We then extracted data on 51 studies that had been conducted in Australia, the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Norway.
We grouped the studies based on World Health Organization recommendations on recruitment and retention of health care workers: education strategies (n = 27), regulatory change (n = 11), financial incentives (n = 6), personal and professional support (n = 4), and approaches with multiple components (n = 3).
Considerable work has occurred to address workforce maldistribution at a local level, underpinned by good practice guidelines, but rarely at scale or with explicit links to coherent overarching policy. To achieve policy aspirations, multiple synergistic evidence-based initiatives are needed, and implementation must be accompanied by well designed longitudinal evaluations that assess the effectiveness of policy objectives. CHAPTER 5: AVAILABILITY AND CHARACTERISTICS OF PUBLICLY AVAILABLE HEALTH WORKFORCE DATA SOURCES IN AUSTRALIA: Objective: Many data sources are used in Australia to inform health workforce planning, but their characteristics in terms of relevance, accessibility and accuracy are uncertain. We aimed to identify and appraise publicly available data sources used to describe the Australian health workforce.
We conducted a scoping review in which we searched bibliographic databases, websites and grey literature. Two reviewers independently undertook title and abstract screening and full text screening using Covidence software. We then assessed the relevance, accessibility and accuracy of data sources using a customised appraisal tool.
We searched for potential workforce data sources in nine databases (MEDLINE, Embase, Ovid Emcare, Scopus, Web of Science, Informit, the JBI Evidence-based Practice Database, PsycINFO and the Cochrane Library) and the grey literature, and examined several pre-defined websites.
During the screening process we identified 6955 abstracts and examined 48 websites, from which we identified 12 publicly available data sources - eight primary and four secondary data sources. The primary data sources were generally of modest quality, with low scores in terms of reference period, accessibility and missing data. No single primary data source scored well across all domains of the appraisal tool.
We identified several limitations of data sources used to describe the Australian health workforce. Establishment of a high quality, longitudinal, linked database that can inform all aspects of health workforce development is urgently needed, particularly for rural health workforce and services planning. CHAPTER 6: RAPID REALIST REVIEW OF OPIOID TAPERING IN THE CONTEXT OF LONG TERM OPIOID USE FOR NON-CANCER PAIN IN RURAL AREAS: Objective: To describe interventions, barriers and enablers associated with opioid tapering for patients with chronic non-cancer pain in rural primary care settings.
Rapid realist review registered on the international register of systematic reviews (PROSPERO) and conducted in accordance with RAMESES standards.
English language, peer-reviewed articles reporting qualitative, quantitative and mixed method studies, published between January 2016 and July 2020, and accessed via MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL Complete, PsycINFO, Informit or the Cochrane Library during June and July 2020. Grey literature relating to prescribing, deprescribing or tapering of opioids in chronic non-cancer pain, published between January 2016 and July 2020, was identified by searching national and international government, health service and peek organisation websites using Google Scholar.
Our analysis of reported approaches to tapering conducted across rural and non-rural contexts showed that tapering opioids is complex and challenging, and identified several barriers and enablers. Successful outcomes in rural areas appear likely through therapeutic relationships, coordination and support, by using modalities and models of care that are appropriate in rural settings and by paying attention to harm minimisation.
Rural primary care providers do not have access to resources available in metropolitan centres for dealing with patients who have chronic non-cancer pain and are taking opioid medications. They often operate alone or in small group practices, without peer support and access to multidisciplinary and specialist teams. Opioid tapering approaches described in the literature include regulation, multimodal and multidisciplinary approaches, primary care provider support, guidelines, and patient-centred strategies. There is little research to inform tapering in rural contexts. Our review provides a synthesis of the current evidence in the form of a conceptual model. This preliminary model could inform the development of a model of care for use in implementation research, which could test a variety of mechanisms for supporting decision making, reducing primary care providers' concerns about potential harms arising from opioid tapering, and improving patient outcomes.
Osborne SR
,Alston LV
,Bolton KA
,Whelan J
,Reeve E
,Wong Shee A
,Browne J
,Walker T
,Versace VL
,Allender S
,Nichols M
,Backholer K
,Goodwin N
,Lewis S
,Dalton H
,Prael G
,Curtin M
,Brooks R
,Verdon S
,Crockett J
,Hodgins G
,Walsh S
,Lyle DM
,Thompson SC
,Browne LJ
,Knight S
,Pit SW
,Jones M
,Gillam MH
,Leach MJ
,Gonzalez-Chica DA
,Muyambi K
,Eshetie T
,Tran K
,May E
,Lieschke G
,Parker V
,Smith A
,Hayes C
,Dunlop AJ
,Rajappa H
,White R
,Oakley P
,Holliday S
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Experiencing financial toxicity associated with cancer in publicly funded healthcare systems: a systematic review of qualitative studies.
Understanding how patients and families experience, respond to, and cope with the financial burden associated with cancer could assist in identifying future research priorities and developing relevant interventions to assist patients and families facing financial hardship. This systematic review offers a synthesis of the qualitative evidence on cancer-related financial toxicity from the perspective of patients and/or informal caregivers in publicly funded healthcare systems where it might be expected that financial protection would be strongest.
Articles published between January 1, 2005, and March 7, 2019, describing financial burden experienced by cancer patients and/or informal caregivers were identified using OVID MEDLINE Embase and PsychInfo, CINAHL, Business Source Complete, and EconLit databases. English language, peer-reviewed qualitative papers describing studies conducted in countries with predominantly publicly funded healthcare systems were eligible. Quality appraisal was conducted using CASP Quality Appraisal Checklist. Narrative synthesis was completed with extracted data and themes identified inductively by all team members.
Twelve articles were identified as eligible. Articles reported on 10 studies conducted in Australia (n = 2), Canada (n = 2), England (n = 3), and Ireland (n = 3). The papers illustrate the complexity and multifaceted nature of experiencing financial hardship following a cancer diagnosis. Each contributes to the whole picture, providing different viewpoints regarding various and diverse forms of financial hardship, the process of confronting financial challenges, working to overcome difficulties, and coping with the resulting impacts. Synthesis of the studies suggested five themes: household and medical costs are increased, financial resources are reduced, financial change and financial hardship vary, financial hardship has many consequences, various mitigation strategies are used.
Cancer patients and their families can experience a broad range of impacts when they are facing and coping with financial toxicity. Consistent gaps in support highlight that strategies to mitigate financial effects related to travel, accommodation, medications, family support, and income replacement are needed for many patients and families even in the context of publicly funded healthcare systems.
Survivors need to be informed early in their cancer experience about the potential financial burden associated with cancer treatment and its impact on survivors and their family members.
Fitch MI
,Sharp L
,Hanly P
,Longo CJ
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