Aims: This work, commissioned by Cancer Australia to support implementation of priorities under the National Pancreatic Cancer Roadmap, developed prioritised recommendations, from all currently available technologies, that facilitate the implementation and widespread adoption of pain management and palliative care pathways for people with pancreatic cancer. This describes the use of evidence summaries and stakeholder engagement to achieve project aims.
Methods: Evidence summaries (ES) are “a synopsis that summarises existing international evidence on healthcare interventions” and provides key information from research to assist policy and practice-level decisions. ES were developed using literature, opinions of pancreatic cancer experts and interviews with health IT professionals. Information was charted using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research and synthesised to develop evidence summaries. The final step included engaging with stakeholders using ES to develop recommendations.
Results: Eleven evidence summaries, demonstrating eleven technologies were then presented to clinician, consumer, culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD), and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stakeholder groups. After consultation, ten digital health technologies were prioritised and recommended to achieve project aims. The technologies identified included: telehealth to improve communication about and service access to pain management and palliative care for regional, remote and priority groups; SMS reminders to improve preparation and attendance at appointments; My Health Record to upload key pain management and palliative care documents for better care coordination; standardising pain electronic patient reported outcome measures; eReferrals for improved referral uptake; development of a national pancreatic cancer clinical registry to evaluate variations in adherence to pain management pathways; patient-facing digital advance care planning; electronic medical record optimisation and digital visual pain tools and automating language translation for CALD patients.
Conclusion: Evidence summaries and stakeholder engagement can be executed rapidly when systematic or scoping reviews are not feasible and can inform digital technology policy recommendations for people with pancreatic cancer.