Summary
PANConnect is recruiting patients from the following Victorian hospitals, however for any questions about the trial or participating, please contact the study team directly via PANConnect-Study@petermac.org
- Austin Health
- Bendigo Health
- Border Medical Oncology
- Monash Health
- Peninsula Health
- St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne
- Warringal Private Hospital
This study aims to evaluate the impact of the PANConnect intervention in addition to usual care on pain and symptom burden among patients with pancreatic cancer compared to usual care alone.
Emotional distress, unmet needs, financial wellbeing, and the relative impact on health service use will also be assessed.
Who is it for?
You may be eligible to join this study if you:
- are a patient aged 18 or older
- have a confirmed diagnosis of pancreatic adenocarcinoma at any stage
- have a life expectancy of at least 3 months, as indicated by your treating consultant
- you are receiving your initial care at a health service participating in the trial.
You may also be eligible if you are a carer aged 18 or older, or a healthcare professional providing or having provided care to participants with pancreatic cancer recruited to the trial.
Study details
People who meet the study eligibility criteria will be randomly allocated (by chance) to one of two study arms:
- To receive the PANConnect intervention + Usual Care, or
- To receive Usual Care alone.
Participants allocated to the PANConnect intervention will continue to receive oncology care from their treating team, in addition to the PANConnect intervention. The intervention comprises the following:
- Weekly patient symptom-reporting
- Symptom assessment and subsequent care coordination by a specialist cancer nurse (the PANConnect nurse) via telehealth
- Real-time communication of outcomes from telehealth consultations to the patient's treating team.
Before and after completion of the intervention, participants will be assessed for pain and symptom burden, unmet needs, financial wellbeing, emotional health and health service usage.
Participants allocated to the Usual Care Arm will have access to all usual oncology care and treatment as agreed by their multidisciplinary team, and after the patient has been amde aware of these decisions. These care and treatment decisions can include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, supportive and palliative vare. Usual care varies within and between each study site, depending on factors such as individual hospital guidelines and the range of services available at the hospital. All sites have access to chemotehrapy, radiation therapy, and palliative care, with metropolitan services offering surgical interventions if requried.
It is hoped that this research project will also inform the implementability of PANConnect and develop an effective scaling-up strategy to support future implementation efforts.
Learn more on the trial website.