Call for Participants – HSR Methods Survey

Dear colleagues,

We are writing to request your expertise in developing cancer treatment delay methodology by completing a short (~12 minute) electronic survey. This project has international support and focus.

Evidence describing the association between the cancer diagnostic-treatment interval and survival is needed from diverse health system and country contexts to ensure optimal healthcare delivery and optimal care prioritization during times of resource constraint now and beyond the pandemic recovery phase. Healthcare systems are under considerable financial strain and evidence informing the design of resilient health systems, care pathways, and models of care are needed.

We are undertaking a global survey of cancer researchers with expertise, interest or experience related to cancer treatment delay studies. This survey will ask researchers to respond to questions related to major methodological domains pertinent to treatment delay studies including an assessment of data quality, establishing cohorts, variable definitions, and measurement, characterizing treatment modalities, accounting for the wait-time paradox, analytic approaches, data management and stewardship, and cancer-site and system-specific considerations. This study has been approved by the Queen’s University Health Sciences Research Ethics Board.

The survey can be found at the following web-link: https://fhs.cac.queensu.ca/oncology/surveys/?s=7DKR4JCJWJJWDMA9.

Your responses will be anonymous and presented in aggregate. If you wish to be considered for participation in the subsequent Delphi study, the final question will prompt you for your name and contact information. This will be untethered from your survey responses.

Please forward to any colleagues with expertise in this area.

Thank you for supporting this effort in epidemiology and health systems research.

Matthew Jalink MSc

Epidemiologist

PhD Candidate (Epidemiology)

Research Consultant – Queen’s Department of Internal Medicine | Cancer Care and Epidemiology

Queen’s University

Timothy Hanna MD PhD

Associate Professor

Division of Cancer Care and Epidemiology

Queen’s Cancer Research Institute

Queen’s University

Christopher Booth MD

Professor

Division of Cancer Care and Epidemiology

Queen’s Cancer Research Institute

Queen’s University

Will King PhD

Associate Professor

Department of Public Health Sciences

Queen’s University