Caitríona Duggan, PHD Candidate of Vascular access devices for systemic anti-cancer therapy at University of Galway, shared on LinkedIn:
“Delighted to share that our PRACTICE survey has been published in the Journal of Cancer Policy!.
This project was a showcase of real collaboration, bringing together interventional radiologists, vascular surgeons, cancer nurses, vascular access specialists, public patient involvement advocates Onagh O’Grady & Jacqueline Daly, medical and surgical oncologists, and researchers from across Europe, with vital face validity from US and Australian experts Jack LeDonne & Amanda Ullman, plus rigorous content validation from experts throughout Europe.
Our aim was clear -to highlight the current clinician practices surrounding vascular access for systemic anti-cancer therapy across Europe, and to pinpoint opportunities for improvement in future guidelines to enhance patient care.
The findings revealed significant variability in how vascular access devices (VADs) are selected and managed, what drives decision-making, and the extent of clinician training and resources in this critical domain. Oncologists are the key decision-makers, yet the day-to-day management falls to nursing staff, which underscores the need for more interdisciplinary teamwork and standardised education.
This work was made possible only by the efforts of every individual and organisation who participated in the survey, contributed to the study design and validation, survey translation Julio de la Torre, Paulo Santos-Costa, and helped disseminate the survey across 18 European countries.
To everyone involved, especially my supervisors Peter Carr & Orlaith Hernon—thank you for your dedication to improving cancer care for patients everywhere.
Looking ahead, we hope these insights will help inform certification standards, clinical protocols, and collaborative international guidelines between cancer and vascular access societies. Together, we can move toward safer, more standardised vascular access for all cancer patients.”
Title: Promoting a research agenda for cancer treatment for intravenous devices with clinicians in Europe; the PRACTICE survey
Authors: Caitriona Duggan, Orlaith Hernon, Andrew J. Simpkin, Viktor Manasek, Julio C. de la Torre-Montero, Paulo Santos-Costa, Jonathan G. Moss, Christina H. Ruhlmann, Knut Taxbro, Miguel Angel Rodriguez-Calero, Rodrigo Oom, Rita Barroca, Onagh O. Grady, Jacqueline Daly, Ian Blanco-Mavillard, Nikolina Dodlek, Jiri Charvát, Saloa Unanue-Arza, Bibiana Krakovska, Peter J. Carr
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