1. Oxford Spine Buddies: an acceptability and feasibility project for peer-to-peer support in a spine sarcoma service.
- Author
-
Cammas, Jasmine, Tomy, Sheto, Strickland, Louise, and Mawhinney, Gerard
- Subjects
- *
TUMOR diagnosis , *SARCOMA , *HUMAN services programs , *QUALITATIVE research , *AFFINITY groups , *CANCER patient medical care , *PILOT projects , *QUESTIONNAIRES , *INTERVIEWING , *SPINAL tumors , *QUANTITATIVE research , *DESCRIPTIVE statistics , *PRE-tests & post-tests , *THEMATIC analysis , *RESEARCH methodology , *SOCIAL support , *CANCER patient psychology , *NEEDS assessment , *FRIENDSHIP - Abstract
Background: Primary bone and soft tissue sarcoma of the spine are rare and account for less than 0.2% of all neoplasm incidences. Following a patient and public involvement event, the need to explore patient support pathways was identified, which initiated this service evaluation project. Aim: To determine the acceptability and feasibility of a peer-to-peer support project among people using the spine sarcoma service. Methods: Users were paired and introduced via Microsoft Teams. Quantitative and qualitative data both pre- and post-introduction of a buddy were collected. Findings: Service users felt that, although they would have preferred having a buddy at the time of their diagnosis, being allocated a buddy made them feel reassured and better supported. Conclusion: The project was well received and preliminary data are encouraging. Therefore, due to early findings from the first participants, the service is continuing to roll out the buddy programme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF