| ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
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| Year : 2022 | Volume
: 2
| Issue : 2 | Page : 108-112 |
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Holistic approach to improve quality of life in head-and-neck cancer patients using CARER model of supportive care: A prospective study
Samara Mahindra1, Paul George2, Vishal Rao3
1 CARER Personalised Cancer Care, New Delhi, Delhi, India
2 Mental Fitness Industry, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
3 Healthcare Global Cancer Centre, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Correspondence Address:
Ms. Samara Mahindra
Carer Personalised Cancer Care, Vijay Enclave, 33/2, 8th Main, 12th Cross Road, Malleshwaram, Bengaluru - 560 003, Karnataka
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None
DOI: 10.4103/jpo.jpo_1_23
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Aim: To describe a model (CARER) of supportive care for head-and-neck cancer (HNC) patients and survivors.
Methods: Primary data were collected from HNC patients from November 2018 to February 2019. An intervention-based CARER protocol was prescribed to 25 HNC patients. Data on movement and meditation, emotional status, spiritual and mental well-being were assessed in patients at baseline and end line (6 weeks). CARER assessed the patients and caregiver's satisfaction through a questionnaire rating on a scale of 1 to 5 (1-worst and 5-best). Student's independent t-test was used to assess differences between various scores at different time points, and P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results: All patients received the CARER 45 program (mean age 56.0 ± 14.0 years) with 100% compliance. When compared to baseline, onco-nutrition score improved significantly at the end line (5.5 vs. 8.7, P < 0.05). Similarly, significant improvement was observed in onco-movement and meditation (5.9 vs. 6.9, P < 0.05) and onco-mental well-being scores (6.2 vs. 7.5, P < 0.05).
Conclusion: Our study supports the utilization of holistic care using CARER model for patients living with and beyond cancer. Furthermore, this study offers potential support for further research on CARER model to influence future policy and funding decisions.
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