Evaluation of Penny Brohn UK’s national programme of ‘Living Well With and Beyond Cancer’ services

Seers, Helen; Griffiths, Michelle; Churchward, Sarah; Samuel, Rebecca; Naidoo, Marian; French, Helen; Jolliffe, Rachel; Durrant, Jo

Abstract

Background: Penny Brohn UK (PBUK) is a leading UK charity specialising in helping people live well with the impact of cancer. National Lottery’s Big Lottery funding between 2015-18 has supported PBUK Living Well with and Beyond Cancer (LWWBC) services in five areas of the UK. Services include Living Well courses (LWC), Follow-Up (FU) support.

Method: Pre and 6-weeks post-LWWBC questionnaires used were: Patient Activation Measure (PAM) for health self-management, Measure Yourself Concerns and Wellbeing (MYCaW) for concerns and wellbeing perception, and Patient Reported Experience Measure for personal reflection on support gained.

Results: 145 courses (123 LWC and 22 FU), located in North England (8), South Coast (32), Midlands (29), South East (43) and South West (33) are running over 3 years. 901 people with cancer enrolled in the first 2 years with between 12-23% (111-206) evaluation postal response rate for pre-post paired data. Year 3 is still underway. Years 1 and 2 data as follows: 43% (48/111) had a meaningful improvement in their post Patient Activation Measure scores indicating they were more likely to go on to self-manage their health. 87% (163/188) of people stated they had been better able to self-manage their own health after LWWBC services.70% (144/206) had a clinically significant improvement in their MYCaW main cancer related concerns, and 43% (89/205) had a clinically significant improvement in MYCaW wellbeing.There were reported improvements in: diet (87% 174/199), exercise (74% 143/193) relationship issues (63% 120/189) and use of stress management techniques (90% 179/199). Of the 199 respondents, 65% reported subsequently attending a meditation or group and 60% joined an exercise class after the LWWBC. Patterns of improvement in MYCaW cancer-related concerns and wellbeing were reported across all regions, demonstrating a successful expansion of PBUK support services across England.

Conclusion: PBUK’s LWWBC evaluation responses indicate a positive and potentially beneficial experience.

Disclosure: Funded by Penny Brohn UK

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (published)
• Conference Name: 2018 NCRI Cancer Conference of National Cancer Research Institute
• Acceptance Date: Nov 8, 2018
• Online Publication Date: Nov 8, 2018
• Publication Date: Nov 8, 2018
• Deposit Date: May 28, 2024
• Print ISSN: 0007-0920
• Electronic ISSN: 1532-1827
• Publisher: Springer Nature [academic journals on nature.com]
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 119
• Pages: 1-49
• Series Title: Selected Abstracts from the 2018 NCRI Cancer Conference of National Cancer Research Institute
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/12012747
• Additional Information: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41416-018-0299-z