• Ilyse Kenis, Ann Van Hecke, and Veerle Foulon.
• Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, Clinical Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
• J Eval Clin Pract. 2024 Oct 1; 30 (7): 119612171196-1217.

RationaleIn the Collaborative Network To Take Responsibility for Oral Anticancer Therapy (CONTACT) project, an evidence-based and patient-centred care(PCC) pathway was implemented in 12 oncology departments in Flanders. The care pathway was developed in cocreation by an interdisciplinary project team, and tailored to the local hospital context.Aims And ObjectivesIn this study, the impact of the care pathways on quality of PCC and other patient outcomes was investigated.MethodA pre-posttest study was performed in nine of the participating oncology departments. The primary outcome was quality of PCC. Furthermore, level of patient self-management, medication adherence, satisfaction with information about the oral anticancer drug and quality of life were measured as secondary outcomes. Linear mixed models were used to investigate differences in outcomes between the pre- and posttest group.ResultsQuality of PCC, as well as all secondary outcomes improved after implementation of the care pathway. However, the changes in pre- and posttest scores were not significant. The overall quality of PCC increased from 3.72 to 3.88, measured on a five-point Likert scale (p = 0.124).ConclusionThis study showed small, however, no significant improvements in the quality of PCC and other patient outcomes. The lack of significant changes can be attributed to the complexity of the care pathway development, poor or unstable implementation of the care pathway and limited changes in follow-up care. More insight in the actual implementation of the care pathway and potential contextual factors influencing its effect is needed to help understand the outcomes of this pre-posttest study.© 2024 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

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