Therapeutic Education Program Aimed at Improving the Quality of Life of Laryngectomised Patients and Their Close Relatives

The therapeutic education of patients and their close relations is, as yet, poorly developed in France in the field of oncology, in particular for cancers of the upper aerodigestive tract. In the case of pharyngeal and laryngeal cancer, total laryngectomy associated with radiotherapy remains a reference treatment for advanced stage cancers. This mutilating surgical procedure has a major impact on the patient's life, due to its physical and functional sequelae. Its psychosocial consequences are also important, owing to the biographical disruption and the identity-related metamorphoses associated with illness and its treatment, which alter the quality of life not only of patients, but also of their close relations. Currently, care for laryngectomised patients consists essentially in informing and educating them on certain technical procedures during hospital admission. New voice education can be a long process and often involves the intervention of a speech therapist, who serves as the link between the patient and the hospital care team. These healthcare modalities often insufficiently account for the social, environmental and personal factors that interact in health-related problems.

The aim is to design, implement and evaluate a patient therapeutic education (PTE) programme, for laryngectomised patients and their close relations, aimed at improving their quality of life.

The research will be conducted over three phases:

The first phase, referred to as the "pilot" phase, will include exploratory, observational and retrospective analysis aimed at developing knowledge on the consequences of laryngectomy on the quality of life of patients and their close relations, the strengths and weaknesses of current practice in patient support and the needs expressed by the players involved (patients, relations, professional carers). This analysis will be conducted via interviews with patients and their close relations and focus groups with the healthcare professionals involved in patient care and support (hospital and independent). This first phase will enable the pluridisciplinary design of a therapeutic education programme for laryngectomised patients and their close relations which will be tested in the study's principle coordinating centre. The method defined thus is in keeping with quality criteria set by the HAS specifying that the PTE should focus on the patient, be scientifically justified, and be developed by a pluridisciplinary group reuniting representatives of patients or patient associations.

The second phase, referred to as the prospective intervention "replication" phase, aims at evaluating the programme's transferability and quality in three centres. The centres participating in this second phase already have experience in the development of PTE programmes and will be involved in the workgroup entrusted with the design of the PETAL programme during phase 1.

The third phase, referred to as the "randomised" multicentric comparative intervention phase, should enable us to assess the benefits of the developed PTE programme on the quality of life of patients and their close relations.

This is a pluridisciplinary study via which we hope to improve the quality of life of laryngectomised patients and their close relations through the design and the sustainable deployment of an innovative PTE programme in France and Belgium. This project also aims at reinforcing town-hospital links to improve help, follow-up and support for patients and their close relations, as well as dialogue between healthcare professionals.