Why We Funded It:
The Charity has a firm commitment to support men living with the
ongoing side effects and consequences of prostate cancer and its
treatment, from our own work we know this is an area where men do
not receive sufficient support. This project will offer support and
advice for men experiencing problems following their prostate
cancer diagnosis and/or treatment, with a 6-month follow up
appointment. This study will be used to inform a larger study to
fully test the intervention.
Scientific Title: A pilot randomized controlled
trial of a nurse-led psycho-educational intervention delivered in
primary care to prostate cancer survivors.
Research project summary:
Many studies (including our own) have shown that men with
prostate cancer can experience a range of problems (eg physical,
psychosexual, psychological) following diagnosis and treatment, and
that current follow-up practices fail to meet these needs.
The research team believe there is sufficient evidence to suggest a
nurse-led intervention which focuses on identifying and dealing
with problematic symptoms and / or psychological / psychosexual
issues will lead to improvements in prostate-related quality of
life. In line with current guidance on follow-up for men who
are stable, our intervention is based in primary care. This study
will test the effectiveness of a nurse-led intervention which will
target men with prostate-related problems (physical (eg urinary,
bowel, sexual functioning) or psychological/ psychosexual) when
they are 12-24 months post-diagnosis, and will offer individualised
advice and support. Men will be offered a nurse appointment in
primary care. The nurse will identify the most important
quality of life issue(s) for the man (and his partner if relevant)
and offer evidence-based information, advice and support, or
referral to the GP, secondary care or other support service as
appropriate. A routine nurse telephone follow-up appointment
will take place six months later. Additional contact will be
tailored according to individual needs. This project is a
pilot trial which is an essential first step required to generate
the information needed to design and run a definitive, future trial
to test the clinical and cost-effectiveness of the
intervention.
Want to see how our expert peer review panel rated this
project?
See links below: