BACKGROUND
Cancer care nurse specialists (CCNSs) play an integral role in delivering and coordinating patient-centred care, helping patients and carers navigate through a complex healthcare system.
AIM
This retrospective cross-sectional study aims to examine patient and carer experiences of care coordination and multidisciplinary care, with a special focus on access to CCNSs, in both the public and private healthcare sectors.
METHODS
Data from a national survey of Australian cancer patients and carers, collected between August 2025 and January 2026, were analysed. The forty-question survey explored experiences of diagnosis, treatment, survivorship and post-treatment care, including access to CCNSs and other allied health services as part of multidisciplinary cancer care. Descriptive analysis was performed for quantitative data. A phenomenological analysis enabled interpretation of qualitative data of participants’ lived experiences, providing insight into their perspectives on our current cancer care models.
RESULTS
Of the 369 total survey participants, 348 respondents reported their experience with access to a CCNS. Only 58% (n = 214) recalled being referred to a CCNS. Patients cared for through the public health system were more likely to be referred to a CCNS than those with private health insurance (PHI, 67.0% v. 59.6%, respectively). Access to allied health professionals was also limited, with upwards of 77.8% of patients not being referred to other allied health clinicians as part of their multidisciplinary care team.
CONCLUSION
Despite a multidisciplinary team being pivotal in the delivery of patient-centred cancer care, access to CCNSs and other allied health services remains varied. Expanding equitable access to CCNSs across tumour streams and healthcare settings may improve survivorship care, reducing the burden on patients and carers navigating an often complex and confronting healthcare system at an already vulnerable time in their lives.