Integration of survivorship care plans into standard care: A quality improvement project.

Abstract

70 Background: American College of Surgeons’ Commission on Cancer accredited programs are required to provide Survivorship Care Plans (SCPs) to cancer survivors after initial cancer treatment. A critical need exists to evaluate SCP patient outcomes. The primary purpose of this quality improvement project was to integrate SCP into standard care for adult stage I, II, and III breast and colon cancer patients. Secondary aims were to examine the hypothesis that the SCP will improve participants’ knowledge base regarding their cancer, health promotion and disease prevention, satisfaction with delivery of health care, quality of life, and adherence to follow-up and surveillance testing. Methods: The IRB approved study was conducted at a hospital-based Medical Oncology Clinic (MOC) in the Western US. A pre/post design was used. Sociodemographic, Medical Outcomes Study Form-36 (MOS-SF-36), Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire Short Form-PSQ-18 (PSQ-SF-18), and Patient Knowledge of Disease Questionnaire (PKDQ) data were collected pre/post SCP. At the follow-up visit, MOS-SF-36, PSQ-SF-18, PKDQ, and open-ended evaluative questionnaire (OEEQ) data were collected. Results: Forty-two subjects were enrolled. The sample is primarily female (n = 36; 86%), Caucasian (n = 41; 97.6%), Hispanic (n = 36; 85.7%), non-high school graduates (n = 26; 61%), and unemployed/retired (n = 32; 78%). Annual incomes were primarily less than $20K (n = 32; 78%). Paticipants were post-treatment for breast cancer (n = 36) or colon cancer (n = 6). 100% of the participants returned for follow-up visits with only 2 (4.8%) delayed. There were significant increases in knowledge (p < 0.001). There were no statistically significant changes in the MOS-SF-36 ant the PSQ-SF-18. Themes in the OEEQ captured satisfaction with the provision of the SCP, changes in health promotion and disease prevention habits. Conclusions: This pilot study supports the hypothesis that SCPs improve adherence to follow-up and patient knowledge, especially in a unique setting of a low socio-economic, ethnically diverse population. A larger study is needed to show statistically significant improvements in health-related quality of life and satisfaction with delivery of health care.