23 March 2021
A new plan to help prostate cancer survivors cope with the life-changing side-effects is being piloted by USQ and West Moreton Health. The following article was published by the Toowoomba Chronicle recently.
PILOT PROSTATE PROGRAM: At the USQ and West Moreton Hospital and Health Service Prostate Cancer Survivorship program signing and project launch. West Moreton Health chief executive Dr Kerrie Freeman and Professor John Bell, USQ Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation).
A new plan to help prostate cancer survivors cope with often devastating side-effects is being piloted thanks to a research partnership between the University of Southern Queensland and West Moreton Health.
The organisations renewed their official collaboration this week, with the University's Vice-Chancellor Professor Geraldine Mackenzie and West Moreton Health chief executive Dr Kerrie Freeman pledging to continue their joint research efforts.
They also officially launched the ‘West Moreton Health Prostate Cancer Survivorship’ program, an online platform to deliver care, real-time condition monitoring and virtual at-home appointments with a clinical nurse.
It links West Moreton Health’s existing virtual platform with intervention research undertaken by Professor Jeff Dunn AO from the USQ Centre for Health Research, who is also a West Moreton Hospital and Health Board member.
“Prostate cancer is a major challenge for the health and wellbeing of Australian males with nearly 230,000 survivors nationwide,” Professor Dunn said.
“Survival rates have never been better, yet so many struggle in the wake of successful treatment – one in five impacted will experience anxiety and depression.
“Improving access to clinical and psychosocial care is key to reducing the burden of prostate cancer on survivors and the greater community.
“Our team has already developed an evidence-based intervention framework using materials suitable for development into an online environment. That’s where West Moreton Health comes in.”
Post-surgical patients will be recruited to test the program, which will remotely gauge their physical recovery and distress levels via a tablet computer.
“It’s about keeping them out of hospital and safe and supported at home, where they will be encouraged to be active in their treatment plans,” Professor Dunn said.
Dr Kerrie Freeman said virtual health did not remove people and people-connections from the care experience.
“At West Moreton Health we are using technology to provide more connections, and improved experiences, to groups of people in ways that better suit their needs,” she said.
“We are proud to lead virtual programs that are new to Queensland. By partnering with USQ to investigate how existing technology can be used to deliver a prostate survivorship program, we are at the brink of a potential great transformation of how men with prostate cancer are cared for.”
