Fiona Crawford-Williams

COSA established its Survivorship Fellowship program in 2020, and appointed three early career researchers to lead research studies that would help build capacity in survivorship research. The Fellows received mentorship, guidance and support from the Survivorship Executive Committee, which comprises internationally renowned senior clinicians and researchers in cancer survivorship. Each project will help advance survivorship research and improve outcomes for all Australians after cancer treatment.

The Project

Defining research and infrastructure priorities for cancer survivorship in Australia: a modified Delphi study. Supportive Care in Cancer 2022

The aim of this study was to establish research and infrastructure priorities for cancer survivorship in Australia. In line with similar initiatives internationally, a two-round modified-Delphi study was conducted with key stakeholders to develop a list of important priorities for cancer survivorship research.

Following an international literature search, 77 priority items were generated and mapped across four research categories: physiological outcomes; psychosocial outcomes; population groups; and health services, and one category concerning research infrastructure. In round one, panellists ranked the importance of the items and in round two, panellists ranked their top five priorities within each category and specified the type of research needed.

Upon completion, the highest priorities included cancer progression or recurrence, fear of recurrence, rare cancer types or cancer types under-represented in research, and quality of care research. Research priorities reflect cancer survivors’ unmet needs, and there was a strong preference for intervention development and implementation research designs in most areas. The availability of patient data; multi-disciplinary, collaborative research; and funding opportunities were the most important infrastructure priorities.

This study has defined priorities that can be used to support coordinated action between researchers, funding bodies, and other key stakeholders.