Essig, S., Skinner, R., von der Weid, N.X. et al. (2 more authors) (2012) Follow-up programs for childhood cancer survivors in Europe: a questionnaire survey. PLoS One, 7 (12). e53201. ISSN 1932-6203
Abstract
BACKGROUND: For many childhood cancer survivors follow-up care is important long after treatment completion. We aimed to describe the availability and characteristics of long-term follow-up programs (LTFU) across Europe, their content and aims, their problems, and to assess opinions on different models of LTFU. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We asked 179 pediatric oncology institutions in 20 European countries to complete an online survey on LTFU available at their institution. Of 110 respondents (62% response), 66% reported having LTFU for pediatric survivors, 38% for adult survivors of childhood cancer. Availability varied widely across European regions, from 9% of institutions in Northern Europe reporting LTFU for adult survivors to 83% of institution on the British Isles reporting LTFU for pediatric survivors. Pediatric and adult LTFU were usually located in pediatric hospitals and run by pediatric oncologists. Content of follow-up included screening for adverse outcomes and health education. Important problems included lack of time, personnel and funding. Most institutions without LTFU reported that they would like to offer a program (86%). CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Despite general agreement on the need of follow-up care, there is still a lack of well-organized LTFU for survivors of childhood cancer across Europe.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2012 Essig et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. |
Keywords: | Adult; Child; Continuity of Patient Care; Delivery of Health Care; Europe; Health Care Surveys; Humans; Neoplasms; Surveys and Questionnaires; Survivors |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > Department of Psychology (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 07 Jul 2017 13:04 |
Last Modified: | 18 Jul 2017 10:14 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0053201 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Public Library of Science |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1371/journal.pone.0053201 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:118541 |