The role of general practice to address the supportive care needs of Australian cancer survivors: a qualitative study

Background. Cancer survivors have a broad range of supportive care needs that are not consistently managed in general practice. Understanding the barriers primary healthcare providers face in providing high quality supportive care is crucial for improving the delivery of supportive care in general practice. Methods. This Australian qualitative study involved semi-structured interviews with general practitioners (n = 9), practice nurses (n = 8), and a community liaison worker employed in general practice (n = 1), to explore barriers and facilitators to identifying and managing supportive care for cancer survivors. Data were thematically analysed to develop recurring themes related to the identification and provision of supportive care. Results. Four major themes were developed: identification of supportive care needs, time and provision of supportive care, challenges in supportive care for diverse populations, and desire for more information. Improved education; enhanced communication across all levels of healthcare, including centralised access to patient information; and greater knowledge of available services were highlighted as facilitators to the management of supportive care for cancer survivors. Conclusions. Targeted efforts to support the facilitators identified here can contribute to more effective management of supportive care for diverse cancer survivor populations to improve the overall quality of care and health outcomes for these individuals.