Rethinking continuity in primary care for people with mesothelioma

The aim of this study was to understand the experiences of patients with mesothelioma, their close persons and their healthcare professionals of continuity in primary care. Specifically, we wished to understand the effort it takes patients and their close persons to achieve their desired level of continuity with their GP and other primary care healthcare professionals.

This project was undertaken for Dr Emilie Couchman’s PhD, and it was funded by Mesothelioma UK and sponsored by the University of Sheffield. The project involved the following sequential workstreams:

Phase 1: A systematic review of the international literature on continuity in primary palliative care for people with cancer.

The literature review illuminated the underexplored concept that patients and their close persons have a significant role in achieving continuity of care for themselves. The published paper can be accessed here. 

Phase 2: Realist case studies of patient journeys through the healthcare system

Longitudinal semi-structured face-to-face or phone/video call interviews with people with mesothelioma, their close persons and their healthcare professionals undertaken over a one-year period.

Phase 3: Stakeholder workshops to discuss how the research findings could be used to improve continuity in primary palliative care for people with mesothelioma.

Emerging findings were fed back to stakeholders in a series of workshops, which provided the opportunity to: collectively reflect on emerging findings; amalgamate different perspectives; consider the implications of findings for service design and delivery; and form recommendations to support continuity for people with mesothelioma in primary palliative care.