Projects
Skull Base Patient Experience Initiative
2022 Extraordinary Opportunities Grant
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Project description
The project aims to reduce anxiety and trauma for skull base cancer patients by creating a range of resources which outline their healthcare journey, including lived experiences from former patients.
Why this work is needed
This initiative will be a multi-faceted, coordinated approach to improving health literacy and experiences of patients diagnosed with a base of skull cancer and will include:
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Patient focus groups to gain insight into the lived experiences of patients who have gone through treatment following a skull base cancer diagnosis. These focus groups will identify gaps in health literacy that is currently available and highlight areas of improvement.
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Skull Base patient advocate presentations to provide real world, lived experience advice and stories to help patients understand what they are facing with their healthcare journey ahead
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Skull base specific surgical and treatment pamphlets to describe in layman’s terms with appropriate diagrams and pictures to outline what patients can expect following diagnosis. The pamphlets will provide details about specific diagnoses as well as contact details for the team involved in the patient’s healthcare journey.
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Video presentations from patient advocates and clinicians to provide information about the patient experience, the process of the Head and Neck Clinic and Skull Base Multi-Disciplinary Team and an introduction to the treatment team.
- 3D printed anatomical models to enable treating clinicians to better explain the surgical process to patients in a practical manner.
Expected outcomes
- Access to in-depth information in an easy-to-understand format including well-presented diagrams and illustrations to increase understanding by patients and their family members
- Greater control over health and wellbeing through interactions with our service due to an increase in health literacy.
- Access to real world experiences from ‘lived experience experts’ who the patients and their families can relate to.
- A more personalised experience with our health-care system due to, not only an increase in their health literacy enabling to make better informed choices, but also being able to get to know their treating team via video presentations
- A more collaborative approach to their health care journey by enabling them to become partners in the process rather than recipients of a service.
- Being able to access information and videos from the comfort of their own home in a time that suits them so they can properly digest the information.
Meet the Researcher
Dr Ryan Sommerville
RBWH Ear, Nose and Throat Surgery
Skull Base Surgeon
Dr Ryan Sommerville
Dr Sommerville is an Australian trained Ear, Nose and Throat, Head and Neck Surgeon. Dr Sommerville operates and consults at the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital in advanced head and neck cancer and skull base surgery, and is a consultant of the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital Head and Neck Cancer multi-disciplinary clinic. He is also the Chair of the RBWH Skull Base MDT and a member of the Qld Skull Base Unit.
Dr Sommerville teaches medical students, residents, ENT trainees and also is on the teaching faculty for advanced skull base courses for ENT surgeons.
His sub-specialty training in Skull Base Surgery was undertaken in 2010 in Bergamo, Italy under Professor Giovanni Danesi, who is widely regarded as one of the best Skull Base surgeons in the world. While in Italy, Dr Sommerville was able to further his skills in both all aspects of Skull Base Surgery, be involved in research in skull base disease, as well as the opportunity to be on the teaching faculty of two international courses, one on Middle Ear Surgery and the other on Anterior and Lateral Skull Base Surgery, and to present research at international skull base conferences.
Dr Sommerville is interested in adult and paediatric ENT, sinus surgery, ear surgery, head and neck cancer, and skull base surgery.
