Project Summary
The occurrence of squamous cell carcinoma of the oropharynx (SCOOP) is rapidly increasing and is predicted to outnumber cervical cancer cases in the United States by 2020. In 2012, 52,000 adults were diagnosed with head and neck cancers, composing 3 percent of all U.S. cancer diagnoses, with the majority being squamous cell carcinomas. In Tier I, we created a patient advisory council of head and neck cancer survivors and their caregivers in Michigan, which we engaged through quality improvement projects throughout the Henry Ford Health System. The council’s accomplishments include helping create a post-treatment clinic for all patients so that they have clinical support. Additionally, the council revamped the previously established new patient resource folder to be more patient centered, complete with words of wisdom and nonclinical tips for newly diagnosed patients. In Tier II, we engaged our national collaborators (both researchers and stakeholders) within the cancer research network and recruited two virtual patient advisors. The advisors participated in research methodology training and a literature review in-service and with the guidance of a multidisciplinary clinical and research team, transforming our comparative effectiveness research ideas into one overarching question focused on quality of life and patient-reported outcomes.
In Tier III, we plan targeted educational in-services for research development and grant writing to draft and submit a compelling research proposal and will continue to build on previously established collaborations with our stakeholders, while creating a dissemination plan.