Yes / Background: Head and Neck Cancer (HNC) is the eighth most prevalent global cancer. Timely recognition of
symptoms is crucial for reducing mortality rates. The EVolution of a patiEnt-REported symptom-based risk
stratification sySTem to redesign the suspected Head and Neck cancer referral pathway (EVEREST-HN) study
aims to develop and evaluate a risk stratification tool using patient reported symptoms, which will be populated
remotely in the community before the patient is seen by the clinician to hasten HNC diagnosis. EVEREST-HN will
design a patient SYmptom iNput Clinical (SYNC) system to gather patient symptom data and calculate a risk
score to aid clinicians in identifying high-risk cases. This identification potentially allows for high-risk patients to
be seen sooner, thereby improving patient outcomes.
Methods: Three workshop sessions were conducted involving a total of 17 unique participants, with several
contributing to multiple sessions: nine in the co-design session, six in the validation session, and nine in the
evaluation session. The co-design session employed online collaboration with patients’ representatives. Thematic
analysis was used to identify requirements and concerns informing the development of a low-fidelity prototype.
The validation session assessed whether the prototype aligned with patient expectations. In the evaluation
session, participants interacted with an online prototype and provided further feedback.
Results: During the co-design workshop, participants emphasized the need for a concise and clear SYNC system
questionnaire for reporting suspected HNC symptoms. Concerns were raised about questionnaire length, language
clarity, and the inclusion of probing questions. Participants suggested concise questions using lay language,
incorporating visual aids for topics like alcohol and tobacco use, and making the sexual activity question
optional. Recommendations included diverse language options, hard copies for non-English speakers, and phone
call options for those uncomfortable with screen-based technology. The validation workshop confirmed that the
prototype reflected participants’ ideas. Feedback highlighted the need for call-back features to help those not
confident with technology and the need to present symptom questions first before social background questions.
Feedback from the evaluation demonstrated a commitment to efficiency, and continuous improvement.
Conclusion: This study aims to develop the SYNC system to enhance efficiency of suspected HNC referrals. The
workshops highlighted the importance of end-user inclusiveness in the system development life cycle, with
collaboration with stakeholders and repeated feedback, providing crucial insights for ensuring the SYNC system
effectively addresses the needs and concerns of patients in the context of HNC diagnosis. / This study is funded by the NIHR Programme Grants for Applied Research (NIHR202862).
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BRADFORD/oai:bradscholars.brad.ac.uk:10454/20056 |
| Date | 23 September 2024 |
| Creators | Odo, Chinasa, Albutt, A., Hardman, J., Patterson, J., McVey, Lynn, Rousseau, N., Paleri, V., Randell, Rebecca |
| Source Sets | Bradford Scholars |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Article, Published version |
| Rights | © 2024 Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )., CC-BY |
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