Discover the surveys of relevance to Palliative and Supportive Care and the integration of oncology that have been conducted by the ESMO Designated Centres Working Group.
ESMO Designated Centres of Integrated Oncology and Palliative Care (ESMO DCs): education, research and programme development survey
The aim of this survey was to facilitate programme and centres development and investigate additional needs and possibilities for centres’ contribution among the ESMO DCs community. The intent was to use the results to fulfil the programme’s objectives, strengthen the community networking potential and reach the overall goal of improving patient-centred cancer care.
The results of the survey have been published in ESMO Open in November 2022.
The pre-planned secondary analysis of the survey conducted in 2016 to characterise the structure, processes and outcomes of the palliative care programmes at ESMO Designated Centres was published in 2018 in ESMO Open.
The objective of this survey was to characterise the level of integration of palliative care in the global community of ESMO Designated Centres of Oncology and Palliative Care, to better understand the structure, processes and outcomes among these centres of excellence, and to learn about novel approaches to attain integration.
The validity of major integration indicators developed by a Delphi consensus process were evaluated, and the benefits associated with obtaining an ESMO designation was examined.
The abstract from this study was presented in the Supportive and palliative care Poster Discussion Session during ESMO 2016 in Copenhagen, Denmark on Saturday 8 October 2016, while the article was published in Annals of Oncology on 1 September 2017.
The joint Survey with MASCC/ESMO/EAPC was conducted to understand the benefits of the integration of palliative care into oncology and how well palliative care is integrated into cancer care.
The results of the joint survey were published in Supportive Care in Cancer, "How well is palliative care integrated into cancer care".
- In 2006, ESMO launched a campaign to improve the availability and accessibility of opioids for the management of cancer pain. Partnering with the European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC), they produced in 2010 the first comprehensive survey of the formulary availability and cost of opioid medications in Europe and of the regulatory barriers that were possibly impeding access for cancer patients in need. In 2013, as a follow-up to the 2010 survey, ESMO and EAPC expanded their research to those parts of the world where data were lacking regarding these aspects of care, in particular Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the states of India. The results were published in the Annals of Oncology in 2013, 'Opioid availability and accessibility for the relief of cancer pain in Africa, Asia, India, the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean: Final Report of the International Collaborative Project.
- ESMO reports: Untreated cancer pain a ‘scandal of global proportions'. Find out more about this important initiative and all the advocacy tools available.
The survey was designed to evaluate the important issue of communication between oncologists and patients with advanced cancer. It evaluated the communication practices between physicians and patient and the attitudes impacting communication dynamics and the decision-making process within the setting of life-threatening illness. Factors that impact communication styles and attitudes towards communication were also identified, taking into account the variables of geography, age, sexual experience and education.
The objective of the survey was to understand the involvement and attitudes of the ESMO members toward the palliative care (PC) of patients with advanced cancer.
The survey indicated that most ESMO oncologists recognise the importance of PC and sup-portive care for patients with advanced cancer. Despite this, many are prepared inadequately for these tasks, and actual participation levels commonly are sub optimal.
The detailed results of the survey were published in Cancer on 1 September 2003.