Aims:
In November 2023, in response to the Australian Cancer Plan, the Commonwealth Government announced the Australian Cancer Nursing and Navigation Program (ACNNP). A key component of the ACNNP, the McGrath Foundation was tasked with developing and delivering an all-cancer Model of Care, to be universally applied to any cancer type, regardless of the person’s stage of cancer treatment or geographic location.
Methods:
A co-design process was undertaken to develop the McGrath Model of Care which involved listening to and learning from people with a lived experience of cancer and their carers. During online and in-person co-design workshops (2024-2025), themes around survivorship were explored. Qualitative data were analysed using a content analysis technique.
Results:
A framework for Living Well was created which embraces holistic and person-centred care from diagnosis onwards, reworking the existing concept of survivorship care. Living Well responds to the desire voiced by people affected by cancer to have care that encompasses management of disease, treatment symptoms and side effects; quality of life through independence and peer connection; timely information provision; and connection and trust with their care team. People with a diagnosis of advanced cancer particularly expressed feeling excluded from traditional survivorship models of care, emphasising the desire to having concepts of Living Well included within their treatment and care plans.
Conclusions:
For people affected by cancer, the Living Well framework is a holistic approach to cancer care that prioritises physical, emotional, and social needs, as well as quality of life, alongside clinical care. McGrath Foundation is developing a theoretical base in this field of literature to support the Living Well framework.