A Social Network Intervention : improving outcomes for women with gynaecological cancer

Outcomes for women diagnosed with gynaecological cancer are poor, but slowly improving. Increasingly there is acknowledgement of the importance of social determinants on the experience of women receiving treatment for... [ view full abstract ]

Outcomes for women diagnosed with gynaecological cancer are poor, but slowly improving. Increasingly there is acknowledgement of the importance of social determinants on the experience of women receiving treatment for gynaecological cancer. Despite this, there is little evidence of the effectiveness of social work interventions on improved outcomes for women and support in informed decision making.

Despite improved mortality rates, women with gynaecological cancer are at high risk of poor quality of life (QOL) outcomes following their cancer treatment. The invasive nature of treatment and its many side effects can cause significant changes to women’s body image, function and interpersonal relationships. This includes low general wellbeing, poor capacity for resilience, and unhealthy psychological adjustment (DThese consequences can result in hasty decision making which can include withdrawing or interrupting treatment pathways, with little understanding by women of the consequences both for themselves, and their immediate family and social relationships.This presentation will report on the outcomes of a study using an evidence based social work intervention, SoNeT (Joubert, Harvey, Spittal, Hill, 2013) which was effective in supporting the coping strategies of women, enabling them to have a positive patient experience, improved patient defined well-being and increased capacity to make informed decisions about managing their treatment pathway. This cost effective, easily accessed social work intervention can be delivered across cancer services as part of routine care.

This paper is part of the symposium ‘Innovation, intervention and impact: how social work research can make a difference’. Webber, Joubert, Newlin