Abstract
PurposeTo investigate associations between cancer survivors’ sex, age, and diagnosis in relation to their (1) need for rehabilitation, (2) participation in rehabilitation activities, and (3) unmet needs for rehabilitation in a 14-month period following date of diagnosis.MethodsA population-based cohort study was performed on incident cancer patients diagnosed from 1 October 2007 to 30 September 2008. Fourteen months after diagnosis, participants completed a questionnaire developed to measure the aspects of rehabilitation. Logistic regression analyses were used to explore the association between sex, age, and diagnosis, and the outcome variables for rehabilitation.ResultsA total of 3,439 patients participated, yielding an overall response rate of 70%. One third of the cancer patients reported a need for physical rehabilitation and one third for psychological rehabilitation. Half of the patients participated in at least one activity. Unmet needs were most often reported in psychological, sexual, and financial areas. Women expressed more needs, participated more often in rehabilitation activities, and had, to a higher extent, their emotional needs fulfilled. Breast cancer patients participated more often in physical rehabilitation. Elderly who expressed rehabilitation needs more often had them unresolved.ConclusionsA substantial variation in rehabilitation needs, participation in activities, and unmet needs in relation to sex, age, and cancer type was observed. Cancer care ought to systematically address the wide range of needs in all groups through integration of systematic needs assessment and targeted supply of offers.
Highlights
Cancer survivors experience physical, psychological, workrelated, and financial challenges and are potentially in need of individual and targeted rehabilitation [1, 2]
More than 98% of the Danish population is listed with a general practitioner (GP), who acts as a gatekeeper to the rest of the health care system [18]
The higher the age, the less likely the patients were to express a need for rehabilitation
Summary
Psychological, workrelated, and financial challenges and are potentially in need of individual and targeted rehabilitation [1, 2]. The World Health Organization (WHO) has defined rehabilitation as: “a process intended to enable people with disabilities to reach and maintain optimal physical, sensory, intellectual, psychological and social function” [3]. Rehabilitation is wide-ranging and may encompass physical, psychological, work-related interventions, and financial support. There is little knowledge about the overall number of cancer patients in need of rehabilitation efforts at different time points in the cancer trajectory. A Dutch cross-sectional study of patients with breast and bowel cancer (n0147) found that 26% of the patients indicated a need for rehabilitation [4], while a cross-sectional study from Norway including the ten most frequent cancer types (n01,325) observed that 63% of the cancer patients reported a need for at least one rehabilitation service [5].
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