Survivorship Clinic Group Educational Sessions: Adoption, Acceptance, and Attendance

Abstract

The number of breast cancer survivors now exceeds 2.5 million in the USA. In the near future, it is likely that existing systems will not be sufficient to provide follow-up care and services for all these patients. Because survivors have many concerns in common and providers may not have enough time to address them individually, group educational sessions (GES) provide an opportunity to inform patients of current breast cancer-related health issues, treatment updates, and follow-up guidelines in an efficient and structured environment. At the University of California San Francisco Breast Care Center, we implemented a GES for patients referred into the Survivorship Clinic. To improve content and convenience, patients were asked at the end of each session to complete a survey measuring their satisfaction with the GES. Clinic staff tracked GES attendance, reasons for declining participation in the GES, and utilization of the Survivorship Clinic for follow-up care. Of the 381 patients referred to the Survivorship Clinic, 177 patients have attended the GES, and 204 ultimately have not attended the GES. Eighty four of the 177 patients who attended completed a survey at the end of the GES. Ninety-five percent of these patients agreed or somewhat agreed that the information presented was clear and understandable. Eighty-five percent of patients agreed or somewhat agreed that they learned about resources for recovery. Utilization of follow-up appointments within the Survivorship Clinic was significantly higher among those who attended the GES compared to those who did not attend. Overall, the GES allows for efficient patient education, and evaluation of the GES leads to new innovations to improve survivorship care.

Patient compliance with a health care provider referral for an occupational therapy lymphedema consult

“…Two patients mentioned at clinic visits that they had not made an OT appointment due to scheduling conflicts with work. Other studies examining non-attendance at medical appointments/programs have also found health problems [15,23], language [15], and work [15,23,24] as barriers to attendance. For example, Wheelock and colleagues [15] reported that 14 patients declined an invite to an educational session due to a medical condition or their elderly status.…”

“…Other studies examining non-attendance at medical appointments/programs have also found health problems [15,23], language [15], and work [15,23,24] as barriers to attendance. For example, Wheelock and colleagues [15] reported that 14 patients declined an invite to an educational session due to a medical condition or their elderly status. In contrast to our study, previous studies also reported forgetfulness [23][24][25], transportation [24], and lack of interest [15] as barriers to attendance.…”

“…For example, Wheelock and colleagues [15] reported that 14 patients declined an invite to an educational session due to a medical condition or their elderly status. In contrast to our study, previous studies also reported forgetfulness [23][24][25], transportation [24], and lack of interest [15] as barriers to attendance. Our lack of finding these additional barriers is most likely due to differences in study design; the other studies contacted each non-attender to determine reasons for non-attendance.…”

“…One recent study examined patient attendance at a group educational session for breast cancer survivors referred to a survivorship clinic. Upon receiving the educational session invite, over one third of patients declined to attend the session for the following reasons: time conflicts, distance to the clinic, current medical problems, elderly, nonEnglish speaking, and lack of interest [15].…”

Transitioning Patients to Survivorship Care: A Systematic Review

“…Brothers, Easley, Salani, and Andersen (2013) used an oncology-led intervention, whereas Grunfeld et al (2006Grunfeld et al ( , 2011 and Wattchow et al (2006) used a primary care provider-led model. Two studies focused on a nurse-led model of survivorship care (Curcio, Lambe, Schneider, & Khan, 2012;Jefford et al, 2011), and one study used a specialized survivorship clinic as the model for their intervention (Wheelock et al, 2013).…”