Background: Lung cancer patients experience a high symptom burden and high levels of distress. As a result this patient group regularly require allied health intervention. There is limited data available on allied health utilisation upon which evidence based recommendations can be made. In 2013 the Sunshine Hospital Radiotherapy Centre (SHRTC) treated 65 patients with a lung cancer diagnosis. These numbers are predicted to increase in the future as the centre is located in the western region of Melbourne, one of the fastest population growth corridors in Australia. This region encompasses a diverse social, economic, cultural and linguistic population which results in high patient needs for allied health and additional challenges in service delivery.
Aims: To assess the allied health service provided to patients treated for lung cancer at the SHRTC. The allied health team is comprised of nutrition, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, psychology, speech pathology and social work staff.
Methodology: The appointment data and documentation records for patients who received lung cancer treatment at SHRTC in 2013 were analysed. A data mining methodology was utilised to identify the incidence and type of interventions provided by each allied health discipline. The influence of clinical factors (eg. disease stage, treatment intent and modalities) was also considered when analysing the allied health interventions.
Results: Of the 65 patients with a lung cancer diagnosis, 78% received at least one allied health intervention. Due to the complex needs of these patients, 45% required multidisciplinary allied health input. Patients receiving treatment with a curative intent had a higher average number of contacts compared to patients receiving palliative treatment.
Conclusions: This study has identified allied health service demands for patients receiving lung cancer treatment at SHRTC. This data will assist in prioritisation of future allied health service delivery.