Stepped-Care Fertility Pathway for Women with Breast Cancer
A key challenge in translating research into practice is overcoming barriers such as lack of reliable ways to identify appropriate patients for intervention and competing priorities and lack of time. A mechanism that can help to overcome these is a stepped-care approach (which result in improved efficiency in other health scenarios). Therefore this study aims to develop and implement a stepped-care fertility pathway at the Royal Women’s Hospital and Royal Children’s Hospital, Victoria. This will include a tailored approach to care that meets the specific needs of women with breast cancer:
  1. Universal screening for desire for fertility information, empowering patients to help themselves by providing timely information and offering opportunities for support.
  2. Targeted identification of patients who need tailored interventions, ensuring quality decisions (through use of the decision aid), providing more guidance, and appropriate referrals.
  3. Treatment where desired, through specialist support and fertility preservation care plans

The impact of this pathway will be evaluated on patient and clinician experiences. This study is expected to improve and tailor patient care and proof of concept of an effective way to implement fertility care in clinical practice for further implementation nationally.