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dc.contributor.authorWeaver, Rhys
dc.contributor.authorO'Connor, Moira
dc.contributor.authorCarey Smith, R.
dc.contributor.authorHalkett, Georgia
dc.date.accessioned2021-11-29T05:40:59Z
dc.date.available2021-11-29T05:40:59Z
dc.date.issued2020
dc.identifier.citationWeaver, R. and O'Connor, M. and Carey Smith, R. and Halkett, G.K.B. 2020. The complexity of diagnosing sarcoma in a timely manner: Perspectives of health professionals, patients, and carers in Australia. BMC Health Services Research. 20 (1): Article No. 711.
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/86688
dc.identifier.doi10.1186/s12913-020-05532-8
dc.description.abstract

Background: Prolonged diagnosis intervals occur more often in rare cancers, such as sarcoma. Patients with a delayed diagnosis may require more radical surgery and have a reduced chance of survival. Previous research has focused on quantifying the time taken to achieve a diagnosis without exploring the reasons for potential delays. The aim of this study was to explore patients', carers', and health professionals' perceived barriers to timely diagnosis and referral for treatment for sarcoma.

Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with: health professionals working with sarcoma (n = 21); patients who have been diagnosed with sarcoma (n = 22); and carers of patients diagnosed with sarcoma (n = 17). Interview transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis.

Results: Four overarching themes were identified: patient perception of symptoms, difficulties of diagnosis, lack of experience, and availability of health services. Diagnosis was prolonged by the limited availability of health services, lack of prompt referrals to a sarcoma specialist centre, and diagnostic challenges. Intervals also occurred when patients underestimated the severity of their symptoms and did not seek prompt medical consultation.

Conclusions: Patients with a potential sarcoma need to be promptly referred to a sarcoma specialist centre and additional diagnosis pathways need to be developed to reduce the rate of patients being referred to wrong specialists. Sarcoma education must be embedded in medical courses and professional development curricula. A public health approach should be taken to improve sarcoma knowledge and health seeking behaviours in the community.

dc.languageEnglish
dc.publisherBMC
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subjectScience & Technology
dc.subjectLife Sciences & Biomedicine
dc.subjectHealth Care Sciences & Services
dc.subjectSarcoma
dc.subjectQualitative research
dc.subjectInterviews
dc.subjectPatients
dc.subjectCarers
dc.subjectThematic analysis
dc.subjectSOFT-TISSUE SARCOMAS
dc.subjectYOUNG-ADULTS
dc.subjectCANCER
dc.subjectBONE
dc.subjectSYMPTOMS
dc.subjectDELAY
dc.subjectINTERVIEWS
dc.titleThe complexity of diagnosing sarcoma in a timely manner: Perspectives of health professionals, patients, and carers in Australia
dc.typeJournal Article
dcterms.source.volume20
dcterms.source.number1
dcterms.source.issn1472-6963
dcterms.source.titleBMC Health Services Research
dc.date.updated2021-11-29T05:40:56Z
curtin.note

© The Author(s). 2020 Published in BMC Health Services Research. This article is published under the Open Access publishing model and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Please refer to the licence to obtain terms for any further reuse or distribution of this work.

curtin.departmentCurtin School of Population Health
curtin.departmentCurtin School of Nursing
curtin.accessStatusOpen access
curtin.facultyFaculty of Health Sciences
curtin.contributor.orcidHalkett, Georgia [0000-0003-4065-4044]
curtin.identifier.article-numberARTN 711
dcterms.source.eissn1472-6963
curtin.contributor.scopusauthoridO'Connor, Moira [13610827900]
curtin.contributor.scopusauthoridHalkett, Georgia [8909188900]


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