Evaluating a multicomponent survivorship programme for men with prostate cancer in Australia: a single cohort study
Prostate cancer survivors are limited to supportive care programs that either address single prostate cancer symptoms or single interventions. The charity organisation Movember has developed a more holistic and integrated care program called TrueNTH. The program aims to design, implement, and evaluate various survivorship interventions that target diverse disease- and treatment-related symptoms. This single cohort study assessed the reach, effectiveness, adoption, and implementation of this program over 12 months, with interventions delivered via telehealth.
- Reach: 136 men with prostate cancer completed the program out of 394 eligible men at different survivorship stages. This reach was lower than expected, but included diverse demographics; participants were at different disease stages, with wide age distribution, and lived in metro, rural and remote areas.
- Adoption: All 136 participants took part in general practice (GP) care coordination, over 50 percent took part in exercise and/or nutrition management, and few participated in specialised support (e.g. sexual health, psychosocial). In particular, the low uptake of specialised support may be attributed to factors such as patient reluctance and underreporting.
- Effectiveness: Participants reported overall improvements in their experience of care, and were more likely to engage in exercise-based interventions.
- Implementation: Several enablers and barriers were identified at the health system, intervention, healthcare professional and patient levels.