Treatment of cancer, especially among men over the age of forty, is a major health challenge that requires targeted actions for improved results. This summary proposes to synthesize existing opinions and evidence so as to advise an interprofessional team to better support this vulnerable group in their initiatives to improve healthcare.
Position with Regard to Health Outcomes
According to the American Cancer Society (2023), Men over the age of 40 with a cancer diagnosis face a range of barriers during their treatment journey, which include delays in diagnosis, treatment complications, and survivorship problems. Late diagnoses often arise from various interlinked factors, including inadequate knowledge of the cancer symptoms and apprehension in seeking medical care. Hence, community outreach and health education programs should be encouraged in the community with the aim of reducing delays in detection and to improve the outcomes. Besides Kurniasih et al. (2022) state that the treatment outcomes are associated with the presence of comorbidities, lifestyle factors and the level of access to care, and hence require personalized, multi-disciplinary care models. Similarly, survivorship care cannot be ignored, where attention is paid to the long-term needs of cancer survivors, encompassing both their physical, psychological, and social health in order to improve the quality of life after treatment.
Role of the Interprofessional Team
Having an integrated whole team is the most essential thing in managing the multifactorial necessities of men over 40 who have cancer. The teamwork of healthcare professionals such as oncologists, primary care physicians, nurses, psychologists, and social workers plays a crucial role in offering integrated services (Moilanen et al., 2020). The team can utilize its strength to improve early diagnosis, formulate personalized care plans, and give total survivorship care through their united efforts. Furthermore, the team of professionals from different disciplines will be able to establish good health, maintain good health outcomes, and achieve patient satisfaction.
Evaluation of Evidence and Positions Supporting the Team’s Approach
Cancer is still one of the major public health problems facing men above 40 because it gives a multifactorial diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship profile. The approach to dealing with such a case reflects on interprofessional teamwork that relies on joint action for the enhancement of the outcome of therapy. According to the studies by Kurniasih et al. (2022), multi-disciplinary care contributes to high survival rates, patient satisfaction, and good quality of life.
Interprofessional collaboration is the cooperation of different healthcare providers (oncologists, primary care physicians, nurses, psychologists, and social workers) on the achievement of one common aim. The teamwork among these professionals makes it possible for cancer patients to have personalized and more holistic health care. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network. (2022) draws attention to this collaborative strategy being the most effective for men aged 40 and over struggling with complex cancer treatment.
Notably, interprofessional collaboration as a component of healthcare integration bridges from the medical component of treatment to the psychosocial and emotional needs of patients. According to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN, 2022), the model focuses on patient-centered, comprehensive care, which is personalized to fit patient’s choices and situations. The interprofessional collaboration integrates a multitude of healthcare providers and services to ensure better coordination, increasing customer care satisfaction and, henceforth, greater health outcomes.
Effective communication is the foundation that supports interprofessional collaboration as an integrated healthcare system, and it is an essential pillar of collaboration among all healthcare providers and patients involved in decision-making. Moilanen et al. (2020) confirm that proper communication leads to patient compliance, patient satisfaction and finally, the betterment of health outcomes. Moreover, communication between the patients and healthcare providers should be transparent and open as well as communication among healthcare professionals should be effective in order to respond to the needs of the patients in a timely manner and provide them with appropriate intervention.
Further, patient engagement in shared care decision-making is another important factor of collaboration across professions as an integrated healthcare model that allows patients to become active partners in the decision-making process of their health issues. Moilanen et al. (2020) confirm that adherence to treatment plans, satisfaction with care, and lower healthcare costs are the result of patients and their healthcare providers participating in joint decision-making. Also, decisions should be arrived at following a consultative approach with the patient’s values and preferences, individual factors, and the most important factors in health care in mind so as to improve the patient’s treatment outcome.
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (2022) elaborates on the essential nature of continuity of care that should be upheld by interprofessional working as a model of integrated healthcare. Support in transitions between one care setting and another during follow-up is a key element of patient-centered and coordinated care, which guarantees that cancer patients receive the highest quality and the most wide-range care. Moilanen et al. (2020) showed that sustained continuity of care is linked to improved patient outcomes in addition to fewer hospitalizations and increased patient satisfaction. They recommend the application of a number of change strategies that emphasize the possible improvements in care coordination, such as electronic health records, multi-disciplinary teams, and integrated care plans in order to guarantee patients to have the access to a consistent and personalized care across all the healthcare settings.
Evaluation of Contrary Evidence and Positions
In spite of the fact that interprofessional collaboration is highly supported, some doubtful critics argue about the possible harmful consequences of collaboration. They assert that establishing collaborative models may complicate the system and lead to communication breakdowns (Moilanen et al., 2020). In addition, there are also issues with resource mobilization and cost-effectiveness for the designated multi-disciplinary teams. The detractors also mention the multiple challenges that arise from cultural inhibitions and the systems in place, which may hinder the implementation of care models in some healthcare settings (Moilanen et al., 2020).
Initial Viewpoint and Synthesis of Existing Positions
The embracement of multiple ideas and viewpoints above will lead professional groups to work closely together and deliver the desired services to the male cancer patients. The team can produce a detailed and all-inclusivehealthcare strategy with the inputs adopted from various views from the constituent individuals who are diverse. Through teamwork, the healthcare staff can foster the best health outcomes, thus increasing the quality of life for men over the age of 40 with cancer their key focus being patient-centered and evidence-based medicine that addresses both psychological and medical aspects.
Conclusion
Synthetically, this study underscores the role of an interprofessional team approach in solving the multifactorial cancer challenges that face males above 40 years. Utilizing evidence-based practice, healthcare providers will develop target strategies that can improve the health outcomes for this disadvantaged group of patients. This effort must be done with the highest level of seriousness in order to make the collaboration, communication, and patient-centered care among providers of health more effective to ensure quality of life for men older than 40 with cancer.
References
American Cancer Society. (2023). Cancer Facts & Figures 2023. Atlanta: American Cancer Society. https://www.cancer.org/research/cancer-facts-statistics/all-cancer-facts-figures/2023-cancer-facts-figures.html
Kurniasih, D. A. A., Setiawati, E. P., Pradipta, I. S., & Subarnas, A. (2022). Interprofessional collaboration in the breast cancer unit: how do healthcare workers see it?. BMC women’s health, 22(1), 227. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-022-01818-7
Moilanen, T., Leino‐Kilpi, H., Koskela, I., Kuusisto, H., Siekkinen, M., Sulosaari, V., … & Stolt, M. (2020). Healthcare professionals’ perceptions of the pre‐requisites and realisation of interprofessional collaboration in cancer care. European Journal of Cancer Care, 29(1), e13197.
National Comprehensive Cancer Network. (2022). Treatment by Cancer Type. Retrieved from https://www.nccn.org/guidelines/category_1
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