'It's my safety net'—a mixed-methods exploration into the impact of a community-based supportive service for people affected by cancer

摘要

Background: 'Improving the Cancer Journey' (ICJ) is a community-based cancer service in Glasgow, Scotland. It writes to those with a confirmed diagnosis and offers a holistic needs assessment (HNA). There is no other service like this in the UK. Aims: The aim was to understand how ICJ impacts upon people affected by cancer. Methods: A mixed-methods design was used. A questionnaire containing measures of quality of life, social support and patient activation was sent to a random sample of people who had used the service (? = 500) and to a control sample (? = 500) who were individuals who were offered ICJ but did not take it up. Descriptive statistics were used to summarise the demographic, clinical and HNA profile of everyone who has used the service (?= 1800) since its inception. Semi-structured interviews were also carried out with a sample of participants (?= 10) who had used the service.