Abstract 2169
Background
Cancer patients and their caregivers are expected to take joint responsibility with regard to reporting symptoms and seeking medical assistance e.g. by calling oncology emergency telephones or other helplines during their cancer trajectory. This responsibility may pose additional burdens on patients and caregivers when they are at home with symptoms that can be potential life threatening. Furthermore, in this vulnerable situation, the ability to handle the responsibility is compromised, which may influence safeguarding fundamentals of care needs. Therefore, the objective of this study is to explore the meaning of responsibility as it appeared in patients or caregivers calls to an oncology emergency telephone.
Methods
Qualitative description and qualitative content analysis guided a secondary analysis and interpretation of data from interviews with 12 participants calling an oncology emergency telephone.
Results
The analysis revealed two main themes. 1). To act responsibly as patient or caregivers was elaborated by: ‘Being watchful and alert’, ‘Reporting the symptoms’, and ‘Cross checking’. 2). To deal with the burden of responsibility was elaborated by the sub-themes: ‘Feeling safe in dealing with the burden of responsibility’, and ‘Being relieved from the burden of responsibility’.
Conclusions
Conclusion: The study provided essential knowledge on how patients and caregivers handle responsibility in their everyday living with a cancer disease, treated on an outpatient basis. The meaning of responsibility appeared in the informants’ capacity to act where they displayed responsibility to observe, assess and report symptoms and control prescribed treatment as well as to share or hand over the responsibility to the healthcare providers. Easing the burden of responsibility requires a person-centered approach that integrates physical, psychosocial and relational needs and bridge a potential imbalance between healthcare providers’ expectations and the patients’ or caregivers knowledge and capacity to act. For this to succeed, establishing a caring relationship between HCPs, patients and caregivers is essential.
Clinical trial identification
Editorial acknowledgement
Legal entity responsible for the study
Birgith Pedersen.
Funding
Has not received any funding.
Disclosure
All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.
Resources from the same session
4543 - Long-term real-world (RW) outcomes in patients with advanced melanoma (MEL) treated with ipilimumab (IPI) and non-IPI therapies: IMAGE study
Presenter: Stéphane Dalle
Session: Poster Display session 3
Resources:
Abstract
4523 - Prognostic Factors for efficacy of Ipilimumab used after AntiPD1 and/or BRAF+MEK inhibitors in Melanoma Patients: an Italian Melanoma Intergroup study
Presenter: Riccardo Marconcini
Session: Poster Display session 3
Resources:
Abstract
3632 - Rechallenge with combination ipilimumab and anti-PD-1 (IPI+PD1) in metastatic melanoma after acquired resistance to IPI+PD1 immunotherapy
Presenter: Adriana Hepner
Session: Poster Display session 3
Resources:
Abstract
3732 - Clinicopathologic characteristics of immune colitis in melanoma patients treated with combination ipilimumab and anti-PD1 (IPI+PD1) and PD1 monotherapy.
Presenter: Kazi Nahar
Session: Poster Display session 3
Resources:
Abstract
5005 - Real-world outcomes of ipilimumab plus nivolumab for advanced melanoma in the Netherlands
Presenter: Michiel van Zeijl
Session: Poster Display session 3
Resources:
Abstract
5524 - Utilization of Real-World Data to Assess the Effectiveness of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors (ICIs) in Elderly Patients with Metastatic Melanoma
Presenter: D Scott Ernst
Session: Poster Display session 3
Resources:
Abstract
5884 - Tumor mutational burden and response to PD-1 inhibitors: an analysis of 89 cases of metastatic melanoma.
Presenter: Léa Dousset
Session: Poster Display session 3
Resources:
Abstract
3120 - Increase in S100B and LDH as early outcome predictors for non-responsiveness to anti-PD-1 monotherapy in advanced melanoma.
Presenter: Elisa Rozeman
Session: Poster Display session 3
Resources:
Abstract
2157 - Immune status defined by molecular information layers predicts response to pembrolizumab treatment in advanced melanoma
Presenter: Guillermo Prado-Vázquez
Session: Poster Display session 3
Resources:
Abstract
2553 - Interim analysis of a phase Ib study of cobimetinib plus atezolizumab in patients with advanced BRAFV600 wild type melanoma progressing on prior anti-PD-L1 therapy
Presenter: Shahneen Sandhu
Session: Poster Display session 3
Resources:
Abstract