Being assigned a clinical nurse specialist is associated with better experiences of cancer care: English population‐based study using the linked National Cancer Patient Experience Survey and Cancer Registration Dataset

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to examine whether being given the name of a clinical nurse specialist (CNS) is associated with better cancer patients' experiences across different points along their cancer care pathway.Methods: We identified 100,885 colorectal, lung, breast and prostate cancer patients who responded to the National Cancer Patient Experience Survey between 2010 and 2014. We compared experiences of four key aspects of cancer care among patients who reported being given a CNS name with those who did not, adjusting for age, sex, socio-economic deprivation, ethnicity, route to diagnosis and disease stage.Results: Across all cancers, patients who reported being given the name of a CNS reported better experiences with involvement in treatment decisions, care coordination, treatment with more respect and dignity, and overall care experience.Experience of being involved in treatment decisions was the aspect of care most strongly associated with being given a CNS name

Factors influencing cancer patients’ experiences of care in the USA, United Kingdom, and Canada: A systematic review

“… 6 , 53 , 57 , 60 In the UK, two studies of the role of clinical nurse specialists in cancer care found that contact with them was subsequently associated better experiences of involvement in treatment decisions, care co-ordination and being treated with more respect and dignity. 64 , 65 Furthermore, better experiences in terms of the patient-provider relationship were also found to improve adherence to office visits for colorectal cancer surveillance in USA. 57 In addition patients who reported that their self-goal of treatment was to cure their cancer rather than to control it reported better experiences with access to care, coordination of care, respect for patient preferences, communication, and emotional support.…”

“…Older patients, those from more socioeconomically deprived areas, those with the worse performance status, multiple comorbidities, and patients diagnosed via emergency presentation were under-represented in CPES. Alessy et al., 2021 64 Being assigned a clinical nurse specialist is associated with better experiences of cancer care: English population-based study using the linked National Cancer Patient Experience Survey and Cancer Registration Dataset Population-based cross- sectional study using 2010 - 2014 CPES data linked with cancer registration data in England for colorectal, lung, breast, and prostate cancers. To assess whether being assigned a clinical nurse specialist is associated with better cancer patients' experiences 2 Patients who reported being given the name of a CNS in the CPES reported better care experiences on four aspects of care: involvement in treatment decisions, care coordination, treatment with respect and dignity, and overall care experience.…”

“…There is also emerging evidence that clinical nurse specialists play an important role in that their care is associated with better experiences of involvement in treatment decisions, care co-ordination and being treated with more respect and dignity. 64 Further research on their role and other ways of co-ordinating care around individuals is needed. Specifically, our findings can also inform researchers and survey designers about the similarity and heterogeneity of patients’ experiences to inform new analyses about how to improve rather than to continue to simply document these differences.…”

Clinical nurse specialists and survival in patients with cancer: the UK National Cancer Experience Survey

“…Clinical nurse specialists (CNS) play a key role in coordinating cancer care, contributing to the cancer multidisciplinary team, as well as in providing information and emotional support for individual patients during face-to-face and telephone contact 12–16. Previous reports have shown variation in access to CNS by geography and by tumour site 17 18. The National Cancer Patient Experience Survey (CPES) asks patients about a wide range of care aspects including their experiences with CNS 19.…”

“…The National Cancer Patient Experience Survey (CPES) asks patients about a wide range of care aspects including their experiences with CNS 19. CNS care has been shown to play a role in patients’ receipt of anticancer therapy and in improving experiences of patients with cancer with other care aspects such as care coordination, involvement in treatment decisions and overall care experiences 18 20. An important question is whether variation in care experiences of patients with cancer with CNS is also associated with their survival.…”