The priorities are the result of a systematic research exercise to address this important research gap, as without establishing research priorities there is a risk future services or treatments will not meet the needs of people living with mesothelioma and their families.
The consensus statement outlining the eleven research priorities can be found here. Five priorities were identified as most urgent:
- Symptom management
- Receiving a mesothelioma diagnosis
- Palliative and end of life care
- Experience of treatments
- Joined up service provision
A further six priorities were also identified as important:
- Care delivery (role of different professionals)
- Living with peritoneal mesothelioma
- Mental health and wellbeing
- Experience of clinical trials
- Family caregivers
- Compensation
It is anticipated that the priorities will influence the research agenda and feed through to policy and practice and improve outcomes for mesothelioma patients and their carers/families. Further information about the Research Prioritization Exercise can be found here.