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Patient‐reported quality of life, unmet needs and care coordination outcomes: Moving toward targeted breast cancer survivorship care planning
Author(s) -
Brennan Meagan Elizabeth,
Butow Phyllis,
Spillane Andrew John,
Boyle Frances
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
asia‐pacific journal of clinical oncology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.73
H-Index - 29
eISSN - 1743-7563
pISSN - 1743-7555
DOI - 10.1111/ajco.12254
Subject(s) - survivorship curve , medicine , quality of life (healthcare) , cohort , breast cancer , cancer , health care , gerontology , advance care planning , family medicine , patient satisfaction , needs assessment , nursing , palliative care , social science , sociology , economics , economic growth
Abstract Aim Survivorship care plans ( SCPs ) have been proposed for universal use with the aim of addressing the many unmet needs of cancer survivors. Trials have failed to find a significant impact of SCPs on quality of life outcomes. This study evaluated quality of life, unmet needs, satisfaction with health care and perception of cancer care coordination at the end of treatment in a cohort of women at the end of treatment for early breast cancer. The aim was to identify specific needs to assist in the design of a tailored SCP . Methods Women completed patient‐reported measures of health‐related quality of life ( FACT‐B [ ES ]), unmet needs ( CaSUN ), satisfaction with medical care and cancer care coordination. Total scores and subscale scores for the whole cohort and results of analysis comparing three age groups were reported. Results Sixty‐eight women (mean age 56) participated. Mean score for FACT‐B = 108 and FACT‐B ( ES ) = 167.4. Younger women (<51 years) reported a significantly lower quality of life ( P = 0.001 for FACT‐B , TOI and FACT‐B [ ES ]). Using CaSUN , 76.1% of participants reported at least one unmet need; mean number of unmet needs = 6.2. Younger women reported more unmet needs than older women. The most frequently reported unmet need was fear of cancer recurrence. Overall, participants were very satisfied with medical care and cancer care coordination. Conclusion Younger women reported poorer quality of life and more unmet needs. SCPs should specifically target younger women and must include strategies to address fear of cancer recurrence if they are to lead to a measureable difference in outcomes.