The SCAPE-CH project aims to establish the standardized and regular collection of patient-reported experiences of cancer care (PREMs) in Switzerland, which are essential for assessing the quality of health services and determining whether the health system is meeting the needs of patients (responsive care). These measures are particularly important when caring for people with chronical diseases such as cancer, as care is often long-term and complex, involving a multitude of health professionals.
The SCAPE-CH project, managed by Unisanté, IUFRS and the Patient lab in oncology, and partially funded by the Federal Commission for Quality (FQC) and the participating cancer centers, will run for 2 years, starting in October 2022.
Methods
Patients from the 21 participating cancer centers across all linguistic regions in Switzerland received the paper questionnaire at home, with the possibility of completing the questionnaire online, in October 2023. The questionnaire includes questions about experiences of care before the diagnosis, at diagnosis (e.g., diagnostic testing, communication about the cancer diagnosis, decision-making about the cancer treatment), during inpatient and outpatient care at the hospital (including experiences related to cancer surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy), as well as experiences with home care and support and survivorship care.
Results
Results will be available in July 2024. The results will provide valid estimates of patient experiences with cancer care in Switzerland and can inform the development of local and national interventions to improve the quality of cancer care.
