Abstract
Although they have been widely studied, important questions remain about the impact of breast cancer survivorship care plans on improving health outcomes. The goal of this article was to review published studies on the impact of cancer survivorship care plans on health outcomes and health care delivery among breast cancer survivors. A total of 111 article citations were identified in PubMed and non-duplicates in CINAHL. After screening the abstracts or full texts of these articles and reviewing the references of previous review articles, 7 studies met the eligibility criteria. All of the studies had a randomized controlled design. Early trials of the efficacy of breast cancer survivorship care plans generally showed little or no improvement in health outcomes. The positive findings of recent studies suggest that survivorship care interventions that empower and activate patients to self-manage their follow-up care and improve patient-provider communication may be especially promising.
Highlights
They have been widely studied, important questions remain about the impact of breast cancer survivorship care plans on improving health outcomes
A total of 111 article citations were identified in PubMed and non-duplicates in CINAHL
Since the Institute of Medicine report “From Cancer Patient to Cancer Survivor: Lost in Transition” was published in 20061, cancer survivorship care plans have been widely introduced in oncology
Summary
Since the Institute of Medicine report “From Cancer Patient to Cancer Survivor: Lost in Transition” was published in 20061, cancer survivorship care plans have been widely introduced in oncology. An important point of the Institute of Medicine report was that survivorship care plans must be more comprehensive than those and address the chronic effects of cancer, monitor for late effects, and promote healthy lifestyles. The purpose of these plans is to help the growing number of cancer survivors deal with the challenges associated with cancer survivorship[3].
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