Poster Presentation Clinical Oncology Society of Australia Annual Scientific Meeting 2022

Implementation of the What Matters 2Adults (WM2A) wellbeing measure into cancer services in New South Wales (#336)

Alana Gall 1 , Kirsten Howard 2 , Kate Anderson 1 , Michelle Dickson 3 , Robyn Martin 4 , Lisa Fletcher 4 , Brendon Cutmore 5 , Ruth Jones 5 , Nathan Jones 6 , Sandra Avery 6 , Jackie Jackson 7 , Melissa Mudie 7 , David Roder 8 , David Currow 9 , Kimberley Williamson 10 , Karina McCarthy 10 , Cynthia Lean 10 , Shelley Rushton 10 , Gail Garvey 1
  1. First Nations Cancer & Wellbeing Research Team, The University of Queensland, Herston, Qld, Australia
  2. Menzies Centre for Health Policy and Economics, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  3. University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  4. NSW Health, Mid North Coast Local Health District, NSW, Australia
  5. NSW Health, Western NSW Local Health District, NSW, Australia
  6. NSW Health, South Western Sydney Local Health District, NSW, Australia
  7. NSW Health, Southern NSW Local Health District, NSW, Australia
  8. University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia
  9. University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia
  10. Cancer Institute NSW, NSW Health, St Leonards, NSW, Australia

Background: Health services have an imperative to routinely collect Patient Reported Measures (PRMs) to inform patient and clinical decision making, service delivery, and improve patient outcomes. Existing PRMs do not capture the parts of life that are valued by First Nations peoples that contribute to their wellbeing (e.g. culture, community and family). The WM2Adults (WM2A) is a new holistic wellbeing measure underpinned by Indigenist research methodologies that privileges the voices of over 2345 First Nations adults nationwide. WM2A is a strengths-based measure that includes 32 items, grounded in the interconnection of family, community and culture.

Method: In partnership with the Cancer Institute NSW, the Directors of Aboriginal Health and Cancer Services across four Local Health Districts in NSW, the WM2A measure will be implemented to measure and respond to the wellbeing of First Nations adult cancer patients. The project is a 3-phase implementation-evaluation, mixed methods design, prioritising Indigenist methodologies and informed by the i-PARIHS framework.

Early-findings: It is feasible to incorporate the WM2A measure into the CINSW electronic PRMs system which is currently in use across NSW cancer centres. Eight cancer service sites across four Local Health Districts are included in our study. Phase 1 includes Yarning workshops with staff, and individual Yarns with patients and community members, to identify the barriers and enablers to implementing the WM2A measure at the local level. We will report the results of these Yarns.

Implications: Our study will transform how cancer services measure and respond to the wellbeing needs of First Nations adult cancer patients, by establishing a feasible, evidence-based approach for broad scale implementation of PRMs into cancer services usual practice.