Information and support for cancer patients and their relatives - evaluation of central contact point enquiries: a retrospective analysis.

BACKGROUND

The Comprehensive Cancer Center Munich has established a central contact point for cancer patients and their caregivers, which is associated with a multidisciplinary supportive care center. The platform facilitates multifaceted enquiries about access to supportive care, second opinions and specialist care. The aim of this study was to investigate the utilization of the contact platform during a period of 31 months.

METHODS

The analysis was sourced from data regarding contact information gathered between January 1, 2022, and July 31, 2024. The dataset was completed by Privacy Preserving Record Linkage, using the tumor documentation data.

RESULTS

Within 31 months, a total of 1226 enquiries were documented, originating from 1058 distinct individuals. The three most common requests were for second opinions (39%), supportive care consultations (37%) and treatment options (16%). 51.5% of the individuals of the cohort were younger than 60 years old. Age groups ≥ 70 years and above were underrepresented compared to the general population of cancer patients in Germany. Women were overrepresented (65.1%). Supportive counseling was mostly requested by women (75.5%). 72.5% of the individuals that contacted the service were patients and 27.5% relatives or friends. While enquiries about second opinions and supportive care mostly came directly from the patients, the majority (55%) enquiries about treatment options were made by associated persons.

CONCLUSIONS

This dataset provided valuable insights as to how the central contact platform service is utilized. These insights will serve to properly address patients' information needs thereby improving access for underrepresented groups.