I am writing to you as the co-Principal Investigator on CaringVirtually, a virtual care oncology patient study, requesting your support in sharing information about this study with your patient community and anyone else you think might be able to assist in recruitment.

Who we are
My name is Majd Ghadban, and I am co-leading a study with my colleague Julia Stoneman, to understand cancer patient experiences with using virtual care as a method of healthcare delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The study is being undertaken by a network of national oncology patient organizations in Canada known as CONECTed: Collective Oncology Network for Exchange, Cancer care innovation, Treatment access and Education.

More information about CONECTed can be found on its website: https://conected.io/

In addition to myself and my colleague Julia Stoneman, the study team includes Jessica Finucane, Ed.S., Dr. Ambreen Sayani, Postdoctoral Fellow – CIHR Patient-Oriented Research, Leadership Stream at the Women’s College Research Institute, Women’s College Hospital, Louise Binder, Health Policy Consultant, Save Your Skin Foundation and member of CONECTed’s Steering Committee, and Dr. Tim Ramsay, Scientific Director, Ottawa Methods Centre.

Study Purpose
The purpose of this study is to understand cancer patient experiences using virtual care during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to develop recommendations that will help to ensure adoption and adaptation of equitable, equal, consistent, and comprehensive virtual care best practices across Canada.

To achieve the objectives of this project, we will conduct one-on-one interviews with cancer patients who have used virtual care during the COVID-19 pandemic as part of their cancer care.

These interviews are offered in both English and French, for which an honourarium will be provided.

Study findings will be used to develop reports, which will be made public. The findings will also be used to inform future studies in the area of virtual care and oncology.

Request for your assistance
Please share the attached information handouts about the study, one in English and one in French, with oncology patients within your network. It will provide them with all the information about the study and how to participate.

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at (CaringVirtually@protonmail.com).

Thank you very much for your assistance.

Kind regards,

Majd Ghadban
Co-Principal Investigator
CaringVirtually

https://cnets.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Virtual-Care-in-Oncology-Study-Information-Handout.pdf