Professionals' Perceptions of the Colorectal Cancer Pathway: Results of a Co-Constructed Qualitative Study

Introduction: Qualitative research on the perceptions of healthcare professionals involved in cancer care about their respective roles in the patient care pathway is limited. Therefore, the aim of this qualitative study was to document these perceptions.

Methods: A multidisciplinary team that included patient researchers constructed a semi-structured interview guide on the perceptions of the colorectal cancer care pathway by professionals. Interviews were conducted with healthcare professionals from two French hospitals that manage patients with colorectal cancer. Then, the interviews were fully transcribed and analysed by the whole multidisciplinary team.

Results: Thirteen healthcare professionals were interviewed (six nurses, four physicians, one psychologist, one social worker and one secretary). They described the colorectal care pathway using a great lexical diversity and listed a significant number of professionals as taking part in this pathway. Among the people mentioned were healthcare professionals working inside and outside the hospital, family members and non-conventional medicine practitioners. However, they did not spontaneously mention the patient. Their views on the role of the referring physician, the general practitioner and the patient were further explored. The interviews highlighted the coordination difficulties among the various professionals, particularly between general practitioners and hospital teams. These data provided interesting elements for developing a tool to help coordination among professionals.

Conclusions: This preliminary study, with its participatory design, brings interesting elements of reflection on the care pathway for patients with colorectal cancer. It will continue through the creation of a larger participatory project.

Patient or public contribution: Patient partners were included in all steps of this study. This transdisciplinary project was coordinated by a group composed of three patient partners, two healthcare professionals and two humanities and social sciences researchers. Their knowledge of the patient's perspective on the care pathway enriched discussions from the study design to results analysis.