Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34030670›Full record

ArticleBMC health services research2021

"The support has been brilliant": experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients attending two high performing cancer services.

Emma V Taylor, Marilyn Lyford, Michele Holloway, Lorraine Parsons, Toni Mason, Sabe Sabesan, Sandra C Thompson

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMC health services research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
19citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
5.8field-weighted citation impact, top 4% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

19 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 27 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Review
  4. Review
  5. Scope and impact of a First Nations cancer coordinator role: perspectives of multidisciplinary cancer staff.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026
    Article
  6. The relationship between Indigenous health and relevant sector Standards in Aotearoa New Zealand, Australia, and Canada: a scoping review.International journal for quality in health care : journal of the International Society for Quality in Health Care · 2026
    Article
  7. Article
  8. Review
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Review
  12. Article
  13. Indigenous Australians' Experiences of Cancer Care: A Narrative Literature Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022
    Review
  14. Article
  15. Improving Access to Cancer Treatment Services in Australia's Northern Territory-History and Progress.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022
    Review
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Emma V TaylorWestern Australian Centre for Rural Health, The University of Western Australia, 167 Fitzgerald Street, Geraldton, Western Australia, 6530, Australia. emma.taylor@uwa.edu.au.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8612-4738
Marilyn LyfordWestern Australian Centre for Rural Health, The University of Western Australia, 167 Fitzgerald Street, Geraldton, Western Australia, 6530, Australia.
Michele HollowayWestern Australian Centre for Rural Health, The University of Western Australia, 167 Fitzgerald Street, Geraldton, Western Australia, 6530, Australia.
Lorraine ParsonsWestern Australian Centre for Rural Health, The University of Western Australia, 167 Fitzgerald Street, Geraldton, Western Australia, 6530, Australia.
Toni MasonAboriginal Health Unit, Mission, St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne, Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia.
Sabe SabesanTownsville Cancer Centre, Townsville Hospital and Health Service, Douglas, Queensland, Australia.
Sandra C ThompsonWestern Australian Centre for Rural Health, The University of Western Australia, 167 Fitzgerald Street, Geraldton, Western Australia, 6530, Australia.
The University of Western Australia · AUSt Vincent's Hospital Melbourne · AUTownsville Hospital · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundImproving health outcomes for Indigenous people by providing person-centred, culturally safe care is a crucial challenge for the health sector, both in Australia and internationally. Many cancer providers and support services are committed to providing high quality care, yet struggle with providing accessible, culturally safe cancer care to Indigenous Australians. Two Australian cancer services, one urban and one regional, were identified as particularly focused on providing culturally safe cancer care for Indigenous cancer patients and their families. The article explores the experiences of Indigenous cancer patients and their families within the cancer services and ascertains how their experiences of care matches with the cancer services' strategies to improve care.

methodsServices were identified as part of a national study designed to identify and assess innovative services for Indigenous cancer patients and their families. Case studies were conducted with a small number of identified services. In-depth interviews were conducted with Indigenous people affected by cancer and hospital staff. The interviews from two services, which stood out as particularly high performing, were analysed through the lens of the patient experience.

resultsEight Indigenous people affected by cancer and 23 hospital staff (Indigenous and non-Indigenous) were interviewed. Three experiences were shared by the majority of Indigenous cancer patients and family members interviewed in this study: a positive experience while receiving treatment at the cancer service; a challenging time between receiving diagnosis and reaching the cancer centre; and the importance of family support, while acknowledging the burden on family and carers.

conclusionsThis article is significant because it demonstrates that with a culturally appropriate and person-centred approach, involving patients, family members, Indigenous and non-Indigenous staff, it is possible for Indigenous people to have positive experiences of cancer care in mainstream, tertiary health services. If we are to improve health outcomes for Indigenous people it is vital more cancer services and hospitals follow the lead of these two services and make a sustained and ongoing commitment to strengthening the cultural safety of their service.

Indexed as

Health Services, IndigenousNeoplasmsAustraliaAustralian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander PeoplesHospitalsHumansQuality of Health CareAboriginal and Torres Strait islanderCancer careCancer servicesCultural safetyIndigenous Australians

Identifiers

PMID34030670
PMCPMC8142293
OpenAlexW3165315389

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.