Professor Jane Young: Fostering partnerships for improved health services and patient support
As a general practitioner, Professor Jane Young saw some interesting clinical cases that prompted her to pursue further academic training in research methods. A Master of Public Health kindled her interest in epidemiology and health services research, setting her on a track to where she is today.
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“Cancer is a very common condition that has major physical and emotional consequences for patients and their families. Through research, we will be better able to prevent cancer, treat it effectively and support people to deal with the consequences of the disease and treatment,” says Jane.
A recent $2.75 million partnership between the Cancer Institute NSW and the University of Sydney to develop an academic centre of excellence in cancer epidemiology has given Jane new focus and new positions – Academic Leader in Cancer Epidemiology at the University of Sydney and Scientific Director of the Cancer Institute NSW.
The partnership between the Cancer Institute and the University of Sydney will increase capacity in cancer epidemiology research in NSW through support of early career researchers and postgraduate students, education and training and collaborative research. Building on the expertise of both Institute staff and university academics, the rich population-based data in the registries and other Cancer Institute datasets, the ability to link data through CHeReL and the strong links with other cancer researchers and cancer organisations, this new partnership is ideally placed to provide high-quality scientific information to policy makers, clinicians and the general public to reduce the impact of cancer in the community.
It is the first time the two organisations have worked together in the field of cancer epidemiology and is an exciting step that will bring about long term benefits to cancer prevention and treatment. The more we know about cancer in NSW, the more the Government can manage resources to lessen the impact of cancer on our community and to save lives.
Jane’s research has covered many chapters of a cancer patient’s journey – from prevention through early detection to treatment. Having seen the effect first hand of how a GP’s intervention or advice could change the course of a patient’s journey, her research began here.
“My first experience of cancer research was a Masters dissertation which looked at evidence-based preventive care in the general practice setting. This included looking at the evidence for the effectiveness of lifestyle interventions and screening tests that GPs could offer their patients. Many of these related to the prevention and early detection of cancer,” explains Jane.
“My more recent research has focused more at the other end of the spectrum, on the effectiveness of treatment for cancer and how to better support people during and after treatment for cancer.”
Through research, we will be better able to prevent cancer, treat it effectively and support people to deal with the consequences of the disease and treatment.
- Professor Jane Young
Health services research brings together expertise from a variety of backgrounds. Epidemiologists, such as Jane, work alongside those with clinical medicine, medical psychology and health economics expertise. With everyone approaching an issue from different angles, every aspect of a patient’s treatment and care comes into focus.
“Health services research is at the interface between research and clinical care and policy. We need good scientific evidence about how best to configure health services so that all patients, regardless of their personal circumstances or where they live, receive the best cancer care and achieve the best outcomes.”
Given the size of NSW and the remoteness of many of its communities, achieving the best outcomes for all patients is a challenge. “Improving the coordination of cancer care is a major challenge for health services. Due to the multidisciplinary nature of many treatment approaches for cancer, and the fact that patients require treatment over extended periods of time, cancer care can easily become fragmented.”
To try to improve care coordination and meet any support needs for people who have surgery for colorectal cancer, Jane has developed a telephone-based intervention – CONNECT – that is delivered by a senior nurse.
“Patients who have surgery for cancer often need additional information and support following hospital discharge to help them deal with the physical and emotional consequences of the disease and treatment. The telephone intervention is in addition to the patient’s usual clinical follow up and aims to provide an additional source of support.”
To test whether this intervention improves patients’ experiences of care and their quality of life, Jane’s team are conducting a large randomised trial involving 22 hospitals across NSW. To date 470 patients across New South Wales have been recruited; their use of health services, experience of care and quality of life at one, three and six months are assessed.
“If the findings of the trial are positive, this would be a relatively low-cost approach to providing additional support for patients, regardless of where they live.”