Poster Presentation Clinical Oncology Society of Australia Annual Scientific Meeting 2022

Investigating symptoms of lung cancer: a guide for all health professionals (#284)

Tamsin Farrugia 1 , Vivienne Milch 1 2 , Anna Boltong 1 3 , Dorothy Keefe 1
  1. Cancer Australia, Strawberry Hills, NSW, Australia
  2. The University of Notre Dame Australia, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  3. Kirby Institute, UNSW Medicine, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Austraila

Aims

Lung cancer is the fifth most commonly diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of cancer death in Australia.1 Early diagnosis improves survival,2 however, non-specific symptoms and smoking-related stigma can cause delays in diagnosis.3,4,5 Increasing awareness about appropriate investigation and referral of people with suspected lung cancer is critical to improving outcomes. Cancer Australia’s clinical resource, Investigating symptoms of lung cancer: a guide for all health professionals (the Guide) was released in 2020 to increase awareness amongst health professionals of recommendations for investigating symptomatic people with suspected lung cancer, and support early and rapid referral into the multidisciplinary diagnostic pathway.

Methods

In 2021, Cancer Australia undertook an innovative multi-faceted digital implementation strategy to maximise the reach and uptake of the Guide by health professionals and implement into primary care.

Results

To increase the reach and uptake of the Guide, Cancer Australia released:

  • clinical learning e-modules (titled ‘A systematic approach to investigating symptoms of lung cancer’) based on the Guide, developed in partnership with Lung Foundation Australia, which provide case-based learning with a consumer story as the focus, and recommendations from the Guide presented throughout, and
  • an interactive, mobile-optimised digital diagnostic tool to be used at the point of care, and for educational purposes.

Since release, the digital tool has been viewed over 16,000 times. The online clinical learning modules have seen 321 enrolments, with 96% of completing health professionals rating their learning outcomes were entirely met.

Conclusion

The freely accessible online clinical learning modules and the digital diagnostic tool provide health professionals with interactive, easily accessible, digital resources to enhance education of the key recommendations in the Guide. They encourage health professional awareness about lung cancer risk factors, symptoms and signs that may be due to lung cancer, optimal timeframes for investigation and referral, and the importance of multidisciplinary care.

  1. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) 2022. Cancer data in Australia. Cat. no. CAN 122. Canberra: AIHW
  2. Cancer Australia. National Cancer Control Indicators. 2019. Relative survival by stage at diagnosis (lung cancer). Accessed January 2021; https://ncci.canceraustralia.gov.au/outcomes/relative-survival-rate/relative-survival-stage-diagnosis-lung-cancer
  3. Weller DP, Peake MD, Field JK. Presentation of lung cancer in primary care. NPJ primary care respiratory medicine. 2019;29(1):21
  4. Bradley SH, Kennedy MPT, Neal RD. Recognising Lung Cancer in Primary Care. Advances in therapy. 2019;36(1):19-30
  5. Chambers SK, Dunn J, Occhipinti S, et al. A systematic review of the impact of stigma and nihilism on lung cancer outcomes. BMC Cancer. 2012; 12 (1): 184