Integrated palliative care in oncology: a protocol for a realist synthesis

Introduction
Emerging evidence suggests improved quality of life, reduced symptom burden and lower health services costs when integrated palliative care and cancer care are implemented. Integrated palliative care aims to achieve care continuity by integrating organisational, administrative and clinical services involved in patient care networks. However, integrated palliative care for cancer is not common practice. This project, therefore, aims to understand how integrated palliative care and cancer care works in different healthcare settings (inpatient/outpatient), and for which groups of people (at what stage of the cancer journey), so we can develop guidance for optimal delivery.

Methods and analysis
We will conduct a realist synthesis to develop a programme theory of how integrated palliative care in cancer works, for whom and in what contexts to achieve improved symptom management and quality of life for patients and their families.
This realist synthesis will follow the five stages outlined by Pawson: (1) locating existing theories, (2) searching for evidence, (3) article selection, (4) extracting and organising data and (5) synthesising the evidence and drawing conclusions. We will work closely with our expert stakeholder group, which includes health and social care professionals providing palliative care and oncology; management and policy groups and members of the public and patients. We will adhere to RAMESES quality standards for undertaking a realist synthesis.

Ethics and dissemination
Ethics approval for this project is not required.
The realist synthesis will develop a programme theory that provides clarity on the optimal delivery of palliative care for adults with cancer. We will use the programme theory to coproduce guidance and user-friendly outputs, working with stakeholders to inform delivery of best practice. Findings will inform further research in integrated palliative care and cancer. Stakeholder engagement will assist in the dissemination of our findings.

PROSPERO registration number
CRD42023389791.

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Febbraio 2024

“Just as curry is needed to eat rice, antibiotics are needed to cure fever”–a qualitative study of individual, community and health system-level influences on community antibiotic practices in rural West Bengal, India

Objectives
To understand community antibiotic practices and their drivers, comprehensively and in contextually sensitive ways, we explored the individual, community and health system-level factors influencing community antibiotic practices in rural West Bengal in India.

Design
Qualitative study using focus group discussions and in-depth interviews.

Setting
Two contrasting village clusters in South 24 Parganas district, West Bengal, India. Fieldwork was conducted between November 2019 and January 2020.

Participants
98 adult community members (42 men and 56 women) were selected purposively for 8 focus group discussions. In-depth interviews were conducted with 16 community key informants (7 teachers, 4 elected village representatives, 2 doctors and 3 social workers) and 14 community health workers.

Results
Significant themes at the individual level included sociodemographics (age, gender, education), cognitive factors (knowledge and perceptions of modern antibiotics within non-biomedical belief systems), affective influences (emotive interpretations of appropriate medicine consumption) and economic constraints (affordability of antibiotic courses and overall costs of care). Antibiotics were viewed as essential fever remedies, akin to antipyretics, with decisions to halt mid-course influenced by non-biomedical beliefs associating prolonged use with toxicity. Themes at the community and health system levels included the health stewardship roles of village leaders and knowledge brokering by informal providers, pharmacists and public sector accredited social health activists. However, these community resources lacked sufficient knowledge to address people’s doubts and concerns. Qualified doctors were physically and socially inaccessible, creating a barrier to seeking their expertise.

Conclusions
The interplay of sociodemographic, cognitive and affective factors, and economic constraints at the individual level, underscores the complexity of antibiotic usage. Additionally, community leaders and health workers emerge as crucial players, yet their knowledge gaps and lack of empowerment pose challenges in addressing public concerns. This comprehensive analysis highlights the need for targeted interventions that address both individual beliefs and community health dynamics to promote judicious antibiotic use.

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Febbraio 2024