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Enhancing Care Coordination and Quality of Life for Women with Recurrent Breast Cancer

Name: Milena B Lopez Hernandez

Instructor: Guelsy Diaz

School: West Coast University

Date: 7/25/2025

Enhancing Care Coordination and Quality of Life for Women with Recurrent Breast Cancer

Aims, Values, and Outcomes

1. Project's Benefits in Terms of Cost, Time, and Quality

The present project is based on the care of the women with recurrent breast cancer of 40 or more. The project will also help to enhance the outcomes of care and hence the overall expenses spent on extending hospital stays and readmission, emergency care, and long-term therapy as a result of the ineffective management of the disease by employing a psychosocially integrated, multidisciplinary, and nurse-led model of care. Better planning will also reduce time for healthcare professionals and patients, and there will be faster interventions and follow-ups (Ding et al., 2024). It will enhance the quality of care given that the emotional support is mainstreamed in the care plan with the psychological and clinical needs of the patients being met. This comprehensive therapy will minimize the consequences of distress caused by recurrence, which has been found to be the cause of non-compliance with treatment, leading to deterioration of the condition (Götze et al., 2019).

2. Goals and Objectives

The project success factors are at par with the measurable goals and objectives as follows:

Goal 1: To enhance the reported quality of life in patients due to incorporating psychosocial aid into the model of care.

Objective: An increment of 30 percent in quality-of-life scores on a patient-reported outcome within 6 months following the application of the new model.

Goal 2: To improve collaboration between oncology and other healthcare providers (e.g., mental health professionals, primary care providers).

Objective: the clarification of the achievement of at least two scheduled interdisciplinary care sessions is organized, and the achievement of both clinical and mental healthcare follow-ups for at least 90 percent of the patients is verified.

Goal 3: To decrease healthcare inequities to underprivileged groups.

Objective: To enhance access to care among the underserved populations such that adherence to appointments must improve by 25 percent during the initial 6 months.

These objectives reflect the values of raising health care outcomes both in terms of quality services and the equity of service delivery in that every patient, with or without a complete socio-economic background, can be treated in a way they deserve (Zhu et al., 2025). 

3. Variables to Consider and Control

Concerning the variables that may impact the success of the project, one will have to discuss the following points:

Budget: Switching to a multidisciplinary care model might necessitate some up-front spending on education, new technologies, and workforce. Although we might not be in a position to allocate the funds unilaterally, a proposal will be established that should be able to show that there would be cost savings based on a reduction in readmission cases and improved patient satisfaction, justifying further investment in the model (Chen et al., 2024).

Time: Evaluation of the project shall take six months. A factor that is very important is that coordination between various healthcare professionals is timely. To minimize the serious delays in the implementation process, the coordination tools, such as electronic health records (EHR) and routine team meetings, will be employed (Ding et al., 2024).

Patient Adherence and Participation: The adherence of patients to follow-up treatment may be different, particularly among underserved groups. The rates of patient adherence will be monitored to determine the obstacles. In case it is revealed that there are considerable barriers, the care model (e.g., transportation assistance, flexible scheduling) will be changed (Zhu et al., 2025).

4. Research Methodology

Taking into consideration the characteristic of this project, a mixed method will be used:

Qualitative Data: To determine the psychosocial pieces of care, their emotional understanding, and their presumptions on the quality of care, interviews with patients in focus groups will be organized.

Quantitative data: Quality of life and health outcomes are quantitative, with surveys (such as the FACT-B scale) on both being used to measure the observable effect of the model of care (Götze et al., 2019).

The synergy of these methods will make it possible to obtain a complete picture of the impact that the intervention will have on the intervention in clinical and emotional terms of care. 

5. Community Impact and Social Change

This project is expected to do a lot of good for the community in terms of giving them an exhaustive care model that meets not only the physical but also the emotional health of women who suffer recurrent breast cancer. The combination of the psychosocial care will enhance mental health, alleviate anxiety and depression, and increase patient quality of experience. Moreover, this initiative will also create a social change in proving that it is possible and advantageous to tackle disparities in healthcare, especially in underserved racial groups. The project is, therefore, based on cultural competence and its availability to any patient, irrespective of their socio-economic backgrounds (Zhu et al., 2025). 

6. Desired Outcomes

The outcomes of this project are desired:

Enhanced Quality of Life: Better quality of life of women who recurrently appear with breast cancer will be reported with reduced levels of anxiety, depression and fear of recurrence and enhanced rates of compliance with treatment.

Better Care Coordination: There will be increased coordination between oncology and mental health care providers, resulting in more comprehensive and effective treatment with less probability of relapse as well as non-compliance with treatment.

Reduced Healthcare Disparities: Underserved populations will be able to get access to more follow-up care, and the healthcare outcomes will no longer be affected by their socio-economic background.

The succession of such results will not only raise the physical health of the patients but will also enhance an environment of support and well-being.

7. Timeline for Accomplishing the Project Goals

The implementation of the project is going to be done within this schedule:

Month 1: Stakeholders and development planning. The creation of the multidisciplinary team and training on the integrated care model.

Months 2-3: Implementation of the multidisciplinary and psychosocial model of care. Start doing the data collection (surveys and interviews).

Months 4-5: Implementation and data tracking continued. Revise the care model according to the early feedback.

Month 6: Review of the project. Interpret and report data, prepare the final report, summarize the outcomes, and suggest a wider implementation. 

Conclusion

The proposed project will offer an all-encompassing approach to the management of recurrent breast cancer in women through the incorporation of psychosocial support in the clinical care paradigm. The project will enhance the quality of life, care coordination, and healthcare equity results because the needs of patients will be maintained regarding emotional, clinical, and socio-economic needs. The findings will offer a format on how to enhance breast cancer care among underprivileged communities and may act as a prototype in other health institutions.

References

Ding, Z., Fan, Y., Li, E., Ai, F., & Cui, H. (2024). Latent profile analysis of family adaptation in breast cancer patients-cross-sectional study.  Scientific Reports,  14(1), 21357. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-72410-2

Götze, H., Taubenheim, S., Dietz, A., Lordick, F., & Mehnert‐Theuerkauf, A. (2019). Fear of cancer recurrence across the survivorship trajectory: results from a survey of adult long‐term cancer survivors.  Psycho‐oncology,  28(10), 2033-2041. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/pon.5188

Zhu, X., Lei, J., Chen, R., Chen, Z., Xiong, Z., Yang, L., ... & Zhang, H. (2025). Cancer Recurrence Fear and Return to Work in Breast Cancer Survivors: The Mediating Effects of Health Literacy.  Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare, 1031-1041. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.2147/JMDH.S498387